Launched on 19 January 2023, Nature Water has, to date, published approximately 250 original research articles, around 50 Perspectives and Reviews, and a further 250 opinion pieces. The journal is now indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and SN Insights, and in 2025 we received our first impact factor. We remain a young journal, but the body of work produced so far provides a meaningful foundation for stepping back, assessing our trajectory and refining both our goals and the way we communicate them to the community we aim to serve as we look at developing in the next few years.

Our initial ambition was to create a venue that captured the full breadth of scholarship on water and the ways society interacts with it. We sought to publish work across the natural, applied and social sciences, with particular attention to interdisciplinary approaches. Our publication record gives us confidence that we have stayed aligned with this mission. Looking ahead, our objectives remain consistent, but our resolve strengthens: we are more committed than ever to supporting work that reimagines humanity’s relationship with water, advancing sustainability and equity.

“We are more committed than ever to supporting work that reimagines humanity’s relationship with water, advancing sustainability and equity.”

As we continue to grow, it is timely to clarify aspects of our remit. A recurring perception is that we focus predominantly on water and wastewater treatment technologies, implying limited interest in other areas. In practice, however, the distribution of topics we publish closely reflects the manuscripts submitted since March 2022. If anything, our non-original research content — where editorial selection plays a larger role — shows a more even representation of the diverse themes that shape the water domain.

Another point worth highlighting is that many submissions involve water in some capacity but do not substantively address water resources or their management. In such cases, manuscripts are typically returned to authors for consideration elsewhere, based solely on scope rather than novelty or technical advance. While each paper is evaluated individually, a few general examples help illustrate how we draw these boundaries.

A clear illustration lies at the interface of water and energy, and an obvious example is a paper published in our first issue, reporting a global assessment of hydropower development1. This work was relevant not simply because hydropower uses water, but because it examined environmental impacts and implications for freshwater systems. We likewise welcome studies that quantify the water footprint of energy production or explore contamination of aquatic environments arising from energy-related activities.

Conversely, investigations of energy generation from water that do not meaningfully engage with freshwater systems generally fall outside our remit. For example, we receive many submissions on water splitting and hydrogen production that are not suitable unless they directly relate to the production of clean water (such as ref. 2) or examine the use or alteration of substantial water bodies.

We also established early on that studies focused solely on the physical behaviour of water would not be considered unless they have a clear link to producing clean water. Research on water dynamics in nano- and microchannels aimed at improving filtration performance is well within our remit and represents an important area for the journal. In contrast, investigations of nanoconfined water molecules or surface hydrophobicity, when disconnected from treatment outcomes or implications for freshwater systems, fall outside our scope.

A further example is our 2025 publication on the cytotoxicity of tyre particles on mammalian cells3. The study was relevant because it examined how water disinfection processes influenced toxicity, placing the aquatic environment at the centre of the analysis. Toxicology studies without a direct connection to water environments, however, are not considered suitable.

Perhaps the most frequently misunderstood area of our remit concerns seawater. To be explicit, Nature Water is fundamentally a journal about freshwater. There are, nonetheless, important exceptions. Desalination naturally fits within our scope, as its primary outcome is freshwater production. Resource recovery and reclamation — including from seawater — are also relevant due to their close relationship with desalination and analogous processes in wastewater and freshwater systems. We also consider studies of the water cycle in which ocean processes influence freshwater availability. In some cases, coastal research may be appropriate when it bears a strong and demonstrable link to freshwater systems. However, work centred on marine biology, wave or tidal energy, or ocean pollution more broadly does not fall within our remit.

We have long described Nature Water as “a journal for all water-related research”4. We recognize that this phrasing may not explicitly exclude the examples outlined above. Nonetheless, we stand by it because it underscores our commitment to contributions that address water challenges, irrespective of disciplinary boundaries. As the field evolves, so too may the details of our remit, and any updates will be reflected on our Aims and Scope page.

If you are unsure whether your work aligns with our remit, we encourage you to contact any member of the editorial team at their personal email addresses, or — preferably — at naturewater@nature.com.