Information is more accessible today than ever before, but when searching the internet for an answer that has real consequences for the environment and public health, the quality of that information is just as important as its accessibility.
The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) has released a new knowledge platform, Access Water, that offers water professionals, researchers, consultants, professors, and students an authoritative body of more than 20,000 informational resources covering all aspects of the profession, written by and for water professionals. Users can log onto Access Water from any internet-enabled device. This resource provides valuable information that can help professionals on the job, at home, in the field, or anywhere else.
“Access Water is the latest chapter in WEF’s longstanding tradition of connecting water professionals with the information and resources they need to do their jobs effectively,” said WEF President Jackie Jarrell. “We are thrilled to introduce this dynamic way of accessing a constantly growing library of educational material.”
Diverse Content
Resources already available on Access Water include technical reports, digital books, fact sheets, conference papers, and more.
Additionally, the platform features technical articles appearing in such WEF publications as Water Environment & Technologyand World Water. Users can seamlessly locate the information they need across these publications by filtering resources according to publication type, author, date, topic, and other criteria.
For users interested in a deep dive into a particular topic area, Access Water also offers compilations that provide a simple, pre-made library of WEF’s most helpful information surrounding some of the water sector’s most pressing issues. The platform already includes a compilation about Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Fundamentals, with additional compilations coming soon that will examine:
- biosolids,
- collection systems,
- finance,
- intelligent water,
- nutrients,
- operations,
- resource recovery,
- stormwater, and
- the water workforce.
User-Friendly Interface
Access Water not only offers users easy access to credible water information, but also enables them to engage with that information in new and innovative ways.
Researchers and students, for example, can build a personal library of the resources they reference most often as well as seamlessly cite resources across multiple types of publications and in several different citation styles. With comment and discussion sections on every Access Water resource, users can ask questions and find answers beyond the text, spurring productive discussions based on specialized, situation-specific information.
Access Water also serves as a hub for authors to help water professionals publish longer technical works for the open market.
Users can take advantage of Access Water with either an annual subscription or a pay-as-you-go option. For WEF members, complimentary access to a wide array of technical content is available through Access Water, including:
- proceedings archive—WEFTEC and WEF Specialty Conference proceedings (2000-2014),
- fact sheets,
- select technical reports, and
- new content added regularly.
WEF Members also receive discounted prices on all items on the platform as well as the annual subscription. Now through July 3, 2020, WEF members can subscribe to Access Water at a special introductory rate of $299.
Get more details and begin exploring at www.accesswater.org. Questions? Email support@accesswater.org.
April 6, 2020
WEF Resources & Efforts