The International Water Association (IWA) is a self-governing nonprofit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, connecting water professionals and companies to find solutions to the world's water challenges. IWA has a global secretariat in London, the United Kingdom, and a regional office in Chennai, India. The aim of the IWA is to function as an international network for water experts and promote standards and optimal approaches in sustainablewater management. IWA has a membership comprising technology companies, water and wastewater utilities, and wider stakeholders in the fields of water services, infrastructure engineering and consulting as well as more than 10,000 individuals including scientists and researchers, with governing members in approximately 80 countries.
Two significant conferences are organized by the IWA biannually: the World Water Congress & Exhibition (WWDE) and the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition (WDCE). IWA works across a wide range of issues covering the full water cycle, with four programmes – Basins of the Future (water security), Cities of the Future (urban metabolism, sustainable city), Water and Sanitation Services (wastewater management) including Water policy and regulation – that work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing the threat to sustainable water supplies posed by climate change.
History
The IWA has its roots in the International Water Supply Association (IWSA), established in June 1947, and the International Association on Water Quality (IAWQ), which was originally formed as the International Association for Water Pollution Research (IAWPR) in 1962, formally constituted in June 1965, renamed International Association of Water Pollution Research and Control (IAWPRC) in March 1982 and adopting IAWQ in May 1992.[3][1] The two groups with separate causes, cultures, and working methods merged on 7 September 1999 to form the IWA, creating one international organization focused on the full water cycle.[1][3] The merger was motivated by the streamlining of operations and a desire to accumulate critical mass.[5] Legally signed and created at the end of July 1999, the IWA was ceremonially launched at the IWSA World Water Congress in Buenos Aires in September 1999.[5]
The first congress under the auspices of the new organization was held in Paris in 2000 with nearly 2.500 delegates attending 450 oral presentations, 750 poster presentations and 4 workshops and seminars.[5][6][7] In 2009, IWA launched a biannual Development Congress, with Mexico City as the inaugural location, as a key component of its comprehensive agenda to drive advancements in the developing world.[8]
In March 2015, AquaRating was announced as the world's first rating agency for the water sector by establishing the international standard for assessing water and sanitation services provision, jointly developed by the Inter-American Development Bank and the IWA.[9] On 1 September 2016, the World Bank and IWA announced the establishment of a partnership surrounding the reduction of water losses.[10]
Publications
IWA Publishing Ltd. (IWAP) was established as the wholly owned subsidiary of the International Water Association in January 1999, anticipating the merger between IAWQ and IWSA, with the purpose of providing information services on all aspects of water, wastewater and related environmental fields.[11] In July 1999, its first new publication, Journal of Hydroinformatics, was launched.[11] The company's portfolio include the publishing and printing of periodicals such as The Source (the IWA membership magazine) and a broad range of peer reviewed journals (e.g. Water Science and Technology, Hydrology Research and Water Research) alongside over 800 books, research reports, manuals of best practice, and online services.[12][13] After having had Elsevier as the publisher for the first four volumes, the Water Policy Journal was transferred to IWA Publishing from 2003. In 2012, the publication of Water Quality Research Journal of Canada was passed from the Canadian Association on Water Quality (CAWQ) to IWA Publishing. The publishing branch of IWA became a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) in 2021.[14] Ten of IWA Publishing's journal became open access via a "Subscribe to Open" model (S2O) in 2021.
Water Asset Management International (fi. March 2006; li. December 2015)
Water Utility Management International (fi. March 2005; li. December 2015)
Conferences and workshops
Flags at the entrance to the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, September 2022, at the Bella Center Copenhagen.[17]
IWA annually hosts more than 40 specialist conferences and workshops on various aspects of water management. Flagship events organized by the IWA include the World Water Congress & Exhibition (WWCE) since 2000 and the biannually Water and Development Congress & Exhibition, with its first edition held in 2009.[17][18][2] The 6th edition of the World Water Congress & Exhibition was visited by 4.500 participants from 94 different countries, which by the 12th edition in Copenhagen had increased to 9,000 participants from 102 countries.[8][19] The 1st edition of the Water & Development Congress & Exhibition was visited by 400 delegates from 60 countries, while the 6th edition saw 3,142 participants attend from over 100 countries.[20][21]
^In January 2021, the IWA Publishing team relaunched the Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology – AQUA, which became AQUA: Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society.
^The IWA launched IWA Open Water Journal on 10 October 2016 at the IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition 2016. After being renamed H2Open Journal, the first issue was published in July 2018.
^The journal was first published by the Nordic Association of Hydrology in February 1970 as Nordic Hydrology Journal and remained under this title until August 2007 (volume 38, issue 4-5). From 2008, the scientific journal was adopted by the British Hydrological Society under the new title Hydrology Research.
^The Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination was launched in March 2011. In January 2021, the IWA Publishing team relaunched the title as Water Reuse, with its first issue published in March.
^The journal's first issue was launched on 1 February 1966 and has been known by its current name since volume 52, issue 1. Former names include Proceedings - Canadian symposium on water pollution research from the first issue in 1966, Proceedings. Annual Symposium on Water Pollution Research, Water Pollution Research in Canada until 1979, Water Pollution Research Journal of Canada between 1980 and 1994, and underwent a name change most recently in 2017 from Water Quality Research Journal of Canada (between 1995 and 2016).
^The journal Progress in Water Technology was launched in 1972 and renamed Water Science and Technology in 1981.
^Initially from volume 1, issue 1, the magazine was called Water Science & Technology: Water Supply. From volume 19, issue 1, the magazine was renamed Water Supply.
^The journal Ingeniería del agua is written in Spanish.
^The 1st IWA World Water Congress was originally scheduled to be held 6-10 September 2009.
^ abcWaddington, Karma (November 1999). "Water professionals in new embrace". Water & Environment International. International Trade Publications. 8 (63): 4. ISSN0969-9775.
^Grabow, W. O. K. (1 June 2001). "Introduction". World Water Congress: Industrial Wastewater & Environmental Contaminants: Selected Proceedings of the 1st Iwa World Water Congress, Held in Paris, France, 3-7 July 2000 Paperback – June 1, 2001 (1 ed.). IWA Publishing. p. 1. ISBN978-1900222686.
^ abHarremoës, Poul (1990). "Silver Jubilee 25 years of IAWPRC"(PDF). Water Quality International. International Association on Water Pollution Research and Control (IAWPRC). 4 (2): 14–18. ISSN0892-211X. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
^Foster, Stephen; Gogu, Radu; Olesen, Ida Holm; Bækgaard, Anders (29 November 2022). "Denmark delivers: a huge success in Copenhagen". The Source – the magazine of the International Water Association. www.thesourcemagazine.org. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
^"The leading water and development event". waterdevelopmentcongress.org. International Water Association. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024. 3142 participants, 59 sessions, 100+ exhibitors, 100 countries, 27 workshops
^"Estuvimos en IWA 2017" (in Spanish). City of Buenos Aires: Jenck SA. www.notijenck.com.ar. November 2017. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
