Editor’s Note

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Meghna Babbar-Sebens of Oregon State University as the new editor-in-chief of the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. Meghna has served for several years as associate editor, and more recently as editor, with a focus on multidisciplinary studies addressing the interaction of social and behavioral systems with the built and natural environments. She brings to the position a wealth of expertise in participatory modeling, watershed management, green stormwater systems, and climate change resilience and adaptation planning, among other areas. I look forward to her carrying out her vision for the Journal.

I would also like to thank all those who made my editorship such a rewarding experience. It has been a pleasure working with all the members of the Editorial Board. The associate editors are in many ways on the frontlines of the Journal’s work, and I greatly appreciate their efforts to obtain thorough and timely reviews, as well as to arbitrate in the case of conflicting reviews or differences of opinion between authors and reviewers. Our lively Editorial Board meetings have been a great source of advice on journal management and ideas for new initiatives to increase the impact and reach of the Journal. Being a part of this collegial group has certainly benefited my own professional development.

Of course, the success of the Journal depends on the contributions of authors and the work of reviewers who, like the editors, volunteer their time and energy to advance the profession. After an increase in manuscript submissions during the second half of 2020, the Journal saw a decrease in submissions—as did many other journals—likely due to the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic. I would especially like to thank the authors and reviewers who continued contributing to the Journal during these trying times, and I welcome back those who hopefully will be catching up on projects and returning to their usual publishing and professional service activities in the near future.

I would be remiss not to express my sincere gratitude to Lloyd Wescoat, who has served as editorial assistant at Michigan Tech throughout my tenure. Her continuous and cheerful efforts to track reviews, send reminders to reviewers and editors, and assist with various other activities including the annual awards process are greatly appreciated. I am also grateful for the support of the ASCE Journals staff. They have been helpful in implementing new procedures and keeping things on track, and they have always been very responsive to my numerous questions.

There are a number of initiatives and policies that have been enacted in the past few years that I would like to highlight. First, the Journal Aims and Scope statement was updated to include emerging areas of research and practice such as water system digitalization, nexus-based approaches, and sustainability, resilience, and adaptation planning. Second, data availability and reproducible results policies were implemented to make published information more readily available and useful to the profession. Third, the Journal now has several special collections available online, including Editor’s Choice, Reproducible Results, and collections on emerging topics such as climate risk and advanced leakage detection methods. Several other special collections are in progress, including collections on hydroclimatic prediction and forecast use, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, intermittent water supply, Colorado River management, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and systems analysis approaches for the food–energy–water nexus. Numerous members of the Editorial Board have worked to bring these initiatives to fruition. Specifically, I would like to recognize Meghna Babbar-Sebbens for organizing the team that drafted the new Aims and Scope statement, and David Rosenberg for his leadership on the data availability and reproducible results policies.

As global temperature and sea levels rise, hydrometeorological events become more extreme, and urbanization continues at a rapid pace in many parts of the world, society needs the best work the water resources planning and management profession has to offer. At the same time, water resources professionals are called to work across disciplines, take advantage of new technologies and data sources, and think outside the box. These challenges can only be met through open and abundant exchange of knowledge, vigorous discussion (even debate), and calls to action from those at the forefront of the field. I look forward to the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management continuing to be a leading venue for these communications.