Authors must have been a Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) state winner and must attend the national SJWP competition. Only the top papers from this competition, as determined by the U.S. SJWP judging panel, will be considered for publication. This judgment is based on the quality of the research as well as the written paper.

Selected papers undergo a series of reviews by an esteemed panel of water quality experts and a final review by the journal editor. Authors receive detailed comments from all reviewers and are expected to submit revisions in a timely manner. 

In addition, all papers must be submitted electronically and follow manuscript guidelines. 

Both original and previously published papers will be accepted. Authors of previously published papers must obtain permission to reprint their paper from the publisher and submit the appropriate release form to WEF.

Authors must submit a signed Copyright Transfer Form (or license agreement in the case of a previously published paper) to allow WEF to carry out its normal publishing activities, including: disseminating information, granting reprint permissions, providing reprints, collecting royalty or other fees (if any), publishing papers in print or other media, entering papers into its database, and authorizing rights to others. In return for assigning copyright to WEF, authors retain the right to revise, adapt, prepare derivative works, present orally, or distribute the work in print format, provided such use is for the personal noncommercial benefit of the author.