The Editorial Panel has recently reviewed and broadened the aims and scope of this journal to take account of the increasing importance of environmental water management, technology and sustainability issues. Historically the journal has focused on aspects of design and construction and a wide range of research and development issues relating to: fluid mechanics, hydraulics, water engineering (including water and sewage treatment and sewerage), hydrology, water resources, river engineering, coastal engineering, maritime and offshore engineering. Associated topics have included: sediment transport, spillway design, design of sewer systems, coastal sediments and breakwaters.
In recent times the role of water and maritime engineers has broadened considerably, the range of issues they must cover has increased, and the tools and technology available to address these issues have become more complex and widely available. In the light of these developments, the Editorial Panel wishes to encourage a wider range of papers for this journal recognising the following aspects relating to water and maritime engineering:
Increasing emphasis on planning and management issues, including: economic, social and environmental considerations.
The need for the engineer to adopt a more multidisciplinary and holistic approach to establishing sustainable solutions.
The benefits to be derived from a systems-based approach, embracing state-of-the-art technologies in: data acquisition, hydroinformatics, and information management.
The increasing need to quantify risk and take account of uncertainty, particularly in the light of global warming and climate change.
The different types of engineering options, ranging from traditional ‘hard’ engineering to ‘softer’ approaches such as river restoration and beach management.
In taking account of this wider range of issues, the Editorial Panel welcomes papers on the following increasingly important topics:
Wetland and river basin management
Groundwater and contaminated land
Eco-hydraulics and stream restoration
Reservoir and lake eutrophication
Hydroinformatics and risk and uncertainty
Catchment management and land use
Water quality and pollution modelling
Water supply and distribution optimisation
Coastal zone management
Contaminated dredging
Waterside development, regeneration and planning
Environmental impact assessment studies
Sustainable water management
Amenity, social and historical water issues
In implementing these changes to the journal, the Editorial Panel would welcome the views of any readers or authors.
