Scope
Water Practice™ publishes original articles in all facets of the wastewater and water quality fields. The journal format denotes a focus topic for each issue and as such the scope will vary considerably from issue to issue; see previous and upcoming issues for a sampling of Water Practice topics. The fundamental criterion for all submissions is a relevance to the water community. Operational and case studies are encouraged. Engineers, scientists, regulators, managers and operators are all eligible for publication in Water Practice.
Manuscript Submission (Updated)
Membership in the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is not a prerequisite for submission to Water Practice. There are two pathways for submission:
- Invitation from the Water Practice office following presentation at a WEF conference. Invited speakers/authors will be notified by the Managing Editor via email. The invitation will include the submission deadline. This is the primary submission pathway.
- Invitation via a "Call for Abstracts" for a special issue on a topic not affiliated with a WEF conferences. In such cases, Water Practice will issue a “Call for Abstracts”. Authors wishing to be considered may respond by submitting an abstract or presubmission inquiry to the Water Practice office. Address the inquiry to waterpractice@wef.org, including a subject line with the following format: "Presubmission Inquiry: <Issue Topic>". The inquiry should give a reasonable summary of the work conducted and conclusions drawn. There is no guarantee of an invitation.
Online Submission Website (New)
Invited authors may submit their work through the Water Practice Online Manuscript Submission website. Authors will have the opportunity to follow the review process for their manuscript using this web-based system (editors and reviewers will remain anonymous).
Presubmission Checklist for Corresponding Authors:
- The following information for all authors: first and last name, institution, email address.
- Properly formatted manuscript files in Word or WordPerfect.
- Figures/Images embedded in the Manuscript file or in external files in TIFF, GIF, JPG, PDF, Postscript, or EPS format.
- Title (135 character limit) and Running Title (75 character limit).
- Abstract (150 word limit. You can cut and paste this from your manuscript).
- Contact information (e-mail address and institution) of 1-5 possible peer reviewers. Do not contact these reviewers concerning the submission.
- Information regarding possible conflicts of interest (COI) and previous publication of the work. Publication in the proceedings of the pertinent WEF conference is expected and is not applicable.
(click above to access the online submission and review website)
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Evaluation Process
Each manuscript will be given a preliminary evaluation by the editor. If it is determined that the manuscript does not conform to scope and/or formatting guidelines, the manuscript may be returned to the authors without review.
Otherwise, the manuscript will be sent to expert reviewers for evaluation. The authors are not to contact potential or suspected reviewers regarding their submission. The reviews will be considered by the Issue Editor, who will then make the decision on publication, revision, or rejection of the manuscript. See the peer review page for a more detailed explanation of the process.
The Managing Editor will communicate the decision to the Corresponding Author of the manuscript; decisions will include suggested revisions or reasons for rejection. Manuscripts requiring revision must be returned within the period requested by the Managing Editor. Manuscripts will not be formally accepted until all issues raised by the reviewers and editor have been resolved. On acceptance, authors will be asked to transfer copyright for the manuscript to the Water Environment Federation. There are no page charges for accepted manuscripts.
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Copyright Transfer
Authors will be asked to complete and return a WEF Copyright form prior to publication. Authors must secure proper permission for all content.
Manuscript Format
Download the full formatting guidelines in PDF.
A complete manuscript should include the following: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, methodology, results, discussion (or results and discussion), conclusions, acknowledgments, and references. The body of the text should begin with an Introduction, which includes a statement of the objective(s) of the work, as well as citations of related work to assess previous studies and identify the gap(s) in knowledge. The Methodology section should include all of the information necessary for replication of the work; this includes sourcing of materials, experimental conditions, and detailed descriptions of any new techniques. The Results section organizes and presents the data, highlighting key outcomes. All figures should include figure legends, so as to make the figures readily interpretable. All data should be labeled appropriately. In the Discussion, the results are frequently placed within the context of other work done in the field. Important or unexpected outcomes are elaborated upon and future avenues outlined. The Discussion section may be used solely, or with an accompanying Conclusions section. The Conclusions section may be used to tie up the key points of the paper. An Acknowledgment section may follow the Conclusions, and should include any credits for funding of or assistance in the study.
If you have trouble adhering to the formatting requirements, please contact the Managing Editor at mmullins@wef.org for discussion.
Full formatting guidelines.
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Copyediting
It is the authors' responsibility to ensure that submissions and revisions are edited and proofed for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Review proofs are not provided.
References
The source of all information quoted or presented (except information that is common knowledge) should be identified and only written works that have been published in the open literature should be referenced. Information obtained privately, as in conversation or correspondence, is to be avoided. A list of the cited references must be included at the end of the manuscript. The list is to be alphabetized by the last name of the first author cited. The order of items in each reference is to be: author(s); year of publication; title of work; periodical, publisher, conference, etc.; volume number, and initial and final pages, as appropriate. Text citations of the references should consist of, in parentheses, either the author(s) and year of publication or the year of publication only, depending on the narrative context. If the same author(s) is cited in more than one publication in the same year, lower-case letters (a, b, c...) are appended to the year in the first and succeeding citations. Periodical titles are to be abbreviated in accordance with the CAplus system http://www.cas.org/sent.html. Examples are as follows:
In Reference List
Jones, A. B.; Smith, C. D. (2002a) Treatment of Hazardous Wastes in Wastewater Treatment Plants. Water Practice [Online], 1 (1), Art. 1.
Jones, A. B.; Smith, C. D. (2002b) Survey of Hazardous Waste Sources in Wastewater Treatment Plants . Report No. 12345; US Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, D.C.
Ross, B. J. (2000) Nutrient Removal Technology Guidance ; EPA-450/4-99-030; US Environmental Protection Agency: Cincinnati, Ohio.
US Environmental Protection Agency (2000) Biosolids Compliance; EPA-224/6-99-031; Washington, D.C.
Naylor, L. M.; Williams, C. (1999) Biosolids as a Nitrogen and Phosphorus Resource: Back to the Basics. Proceedings of the 72nd Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference [CD-ROM]; New Orleans, Louisiana, Oct 10-13; Water Environment Federation: Alexandria, Virginia, page numbers.
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In Text Citation
"There are several alternatives (Jones and Smith, 1992a) for handling these wastes."
"Jones and Smith (1992b) have documented the source of these wastes."
Terminology
To promote public acceptance of reuse projects, the Water Environment Federation has adopted the use of the word "biosolids" to describe the primarily organic solids product of municipal wastewater treatment that meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or applicable criteria for beneficial use. The term "biosolids" is generally used after recycling criteria have been achieved, typically at the outlet of the stabilization process. Sludge refers to the unstabilized solids and should be used with a specific process descriptor, such as primary sludge, waste activated sludge, or secondary sludge. For general description, solids, residuals, or another appropriate term, is preferred.
Tables and Figures
Great care should be given to preparing concise tables containing only that information essential to substantiating the text. Columns containing few entries or full columns of data that vary only slightly should be avoided. Judicious use of table footnotes can greatly simplify the presentation. Inclusion of lengthy explanations in the footnotes should be avoided, however. These discussions should be included directly in the manuscript text.
Figures should be used to substantiate data trends, correlations or illustrate points made in the text, not merely to present data. Legends identifying data series should be contained within the figures, not in the captions.
Captions should be provided for all figures and tables. Furthermore, each figure and table should be identified with a number and embedded within the text.
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Acronyms
The use of common acronyms to abbreviate long expressions is encouraged. All abbreviated terms (except for common mathematic units) should be written out on first occurrence. Authors should use notation that is already accepted in the field.
Equipment and Materials
The vendor (or supplier) and its location (city, state or province, and country if outside the United States) should be included for all equipment and products identified in the methods section. Computer software should be identified by name and location of the developer.
Units of Expression
All data in the text, figures, and tables must be supplied in metric notation using International System of Units (SI) nomenclature. Conversion of any non-metric data will be requested from the author before publication. If desired, English (customary) units can be shown in parentheses following the metric quantities.
Equations
Equations and formulas should be numbered separately and sequentially throughout the text. All variables and special symbols, such as Greek letters, must be clearly identified and explained, and units of measurement provided.
Statistical Analyses
When reporting results, the type of analysis conducted (e.g., Spearman rank test, Student's t test, least-squares regression, etc.) should be reported. Also, all variables (e.g., r, R, p, P, µ, etc.) should be defined on first occurrence for clarity.
Photographs
Submission of photographs should be limited to those that are essential to an understanding of the text. No human faces should appear in any photograph. Figures may be considered separately for use on the Water Practice home page.
Correspondence and Inquiries
General inquiries may be addressed to waterpractice@wef.org. Correspondence and inquiries for the Managing Editor should be addressed to Michael Mullins, 601 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1994 or mmullins@wef.org. Fax: 703-836-1794.
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