Water SA has been in publication since 1975 and is funded and published by the South African Water Research Commission. The journal is issued quarterly (January, April, July, October).
Water SA is a multidisciplinary international journal publishing refereed original research and review articles on all aspects of water science, technology, engineering, and policy. This includes water resource development; the hydrological cycle; surface hydrology; geohydrology, hydropedology and hydrometeorology; hydraulics; limnology; freshwater and estuarine ecology; salinisation; treatment and management of municipal and industrial water and wastewater; treatment and disposal of sewage sludge; environmental pollution control; environmental and drinking water quality; drinking water treatment; water services, including domestic water supply and sanitation services; agricultural water; aquaculture in terms of its impact on the water resource; water policy and governance; water economics; water as a social good.
The primary focus of the journal is on content that is relevant to the needs of the Southern African/SADC region, which includes research that is of broad international interest. Submissions that are mainly or solely of interest within a single country will not be considered, except in the case of studies of particular importance to South Africa and/or its direct neighbours.
Contributions may take the form of a research paper, a critical review, a short communication, a rapid communication, a technical note, or comments on papers already published. A research paper is a comprehensive contribution to the subject, including an introduction, experimental information, and discussion of results. (Technical accounts involving the application of well-known techniques, and situation assessment/observation/sampling papers reporting results of work not carried out as a research activity, cannot be considered.) A review is an authoritative, critical account of recent and current research in a specific field to which the author has made notable contributions. Short communication is a concise account of new and significant findings to inform readers of preliminary or limited research results. Rapid communication is an original contribution that merits prompt publication to publicise the findings of very recent research with immediate significance. A technical note describes an original process or technique without necessarily including extensive data, theory or critical evaluation. Comments on papers already published are sent to the authors of the paper for the reply and both the comments and the authors’ reply will be published in the upcoming issue of Water SA.