The Big Picture
What’s your magazine about?
I get asked this question a lot, and the confusion is understandable: The term water efficiency is at once all-encompassing and yet also ruled by specificity. This past year— while sorting through assignments, submissions, and reader feedback—I’ve learned that many people hold many different and passionate opinions about what defines water efficiency.
When it comes to distilling the focus of the magazine into one sentence, it may seem hard to reconcile our all-inclusive content with the industry-specific topics we address in every issue. In my debut editorial I stated, “The concept of ‘water efficiency’ stands upon two pillars: conserving our water resources and protecting our water supply.” As a new year begins, I’d like to take the opportunity to clarify and elaborate on that statement.
Let me start off by reiterating: From point of view of the magazine, the term water efficiency is as a blanket statement meant to include not only water efficient technologies, but also conservation efforts and public outreach. One glance at our table of contents reveals the broad reach of magazine, with tentacles stretching out to embrace product summaries, project spotlights, and features focusing on the larger topics that influence the entire industry.
For example, in every issue you will find at least one article detailing the latest technological advances designed to help you monitor the status of your water supply. One month it could be a survey piece on the benefits of automatic meter reading; the next it could be a project profile on the successful implementation of a “Smart” irrigation system. In the last year we’ve covered everything from desalination to pump scheduling software to geographic information systems. The technologies associated with water resource management are improving exponentially, expanding their reach and their abilities every day. We intend to continue to cover these changes as they happen, to help you anticipate where those technologies are headed, and to explain how they can help you meet your goal: to efficiently and economically protect and manage your water supply.
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But technology means nothing without context, which is why we include a variety of “big picture” articles in every issue. These articles are designed to provide an overview of the industry. Our writers have discussed the relationship between water and energy, the struggle between land development and aging infrastructure, and the yin-yang of water audits and drought planning. We’ve opened the door to international voices as well, including articles focused on projects in Canada, Asia, and Africa. And as the effects of climate change become harder to ignore, we will continue to provide material so that you can determine how global warming will affect you and help you decide what can be done to mitigate the damage.
As we begin our second year, we plan to continue to grow and evolve in order to present a well-rounded picture of all the topics of concern within the field of water efficiency. We look forward to greater participation by our editorial advisory board and an increase in academic submissions and reader commentaries. I believe it is important to encourage a dialogue between our readers and professionals in the field. By combining traditional articles with contributions from our audience, our magazine is poised to clarify some of the murky corners of water resource management and inspire everyone in the “water efficiency” field to embrace innovation, encourage communication and—most importantly—commit to working together to solve our world water crisis.
January-February 2008
The Big Picture
What’s your magazine about?I get asked this question a lot, and the confusion is understandable: The term water efficiency is at once all-encompassing and yet also ruled by specificity. This past year— while sorting through assignments, submissions, and reader feedback—I’ve learned that many people hold many different and passionate opinions about what defines water efficiency.
When it comes to distilling the focus of the magazine into one sentence, it may seem hard to reconcile our all-inclusive content with the industry-specific topics we address in every issue. In my debut editorial I stated, “The concept of ‘water efficiency’ stands upon two pillars: conserving our water resources and protecting our water supply.” As a new year begins, I’d like to take the opportunity to clarify and elaborate on that statement.
Let me start off by reiterating: From point of view of the magazine, the term water efficiency is as a blanket statement meant to include not only water efficient technologies, but also conservation efforts and public outreach. One glance at our table of contents reveals the broad reach of magazine, with tentacles stretching out to embrace product summaries, project spotlights, and features focusing on the larger topics that influence the entire industry.
For example, in every issue you will find at least one article detailing the latest technological advances designed to help you monitor the status of your water supply. One month it could be a survey piece on the benefits of automatic meter reading; the next it could be a project profile on the successful implementation of a “Smart” irrigation system. In the last year we’ve covered everything from desalination to pump scheduling software to geographic information systems. The technologies associated with water resource management are improving exponentially, expanding their reach and their abilities every day. We intend to continue to cover these changes as they happen, to help you anticipate where those technologies are headed, and to explain how they can help you meet your goal: to efficiently and economically protect and manage your water supply.
But technology means nothing without context, which is why we include a variety of “big picture” articles in every issue. These articles are designed to provide an overview of the industry. Our writers have discussed the relationship between water and energy, the struggle between land development and aging infrastructure, and the yin-yang of water audits and drought planning. We’ve opened the door to international voices as well, including articles focused on projects in Canada, Asia, and Africa. And as the effects of climate change become harder to ignore, we will continue to provide material so that you can determine how global warming will affect you and help you decide what can be done to mitigate the damage.
As we begin our second year, we plan to continue to grow and evolve in order to present a well-rounded picture of all the topics of concern within the field of water efficiency. We look forward to greater participation by our editorial advisory board and an increase in academic submissions and reader commentaries. I believe it is important to encourage a dialogue between our readers and professionals in the field. By combining traditional articles with contributions from our audience, our magazine is poised to clarify some of the murky corners of water resource management and inspire everyone in the “water efficiency” field to embrace innovation, encourage communication and—most importantly—commit to working together to solve our world water crisis.