Aqua Media International Ltd

The bi-monthly International Journal on Hydropower & Dams publishes, for its readers in more than 180 countries, research papers, descriptive case studies, project updates, business and financial news, and policy papers aiming to help advance the state-of-the-art of dam engineering and hydropower development. An Editorial Board comprising the world's most eminent experts in various fields helps to steer the policy and content of the Journal, and the editorial team travels extensively worldwide, to identify the most important issues for editorial coverage.

Each issue has a regional focus, presenting examples of policy as well as current and planned schemes in the various regions of the world with major activities underway. These are often planned to coincide with international events taking place in the region. Technical themes cover a broad range of disciplines, combining state-of-the-art research and technology, practical papers on civil, mechanical and electrical engineering topics, as well as policy papers. Emphasis is on best practice, in terms of safety, economy, and responsible planning with regard to environmental and social aspects.

A calendar of events keeps readers up to date with forthcoming conferences, exhibitions and training courses worldwide on water and energy, and all related topics.

The news section includes items announcing new schemes, financial agreements, bid information and contract awards, milestones achieved at on-going projects, inaugurations of completed schemes, and company news.

Technical Development items bring readers up to date with the latest achievements in R&D and give details of new product launches - covering a broad range of subject areas, from construction equipment to control systems, and from compact instrumentation systems to large turbines and generators.
The Project Focus section gives an opportunity to review progress on site at hydro and dam schemes of international interest. Topics could range from upgrading turbines in the USA, to tunnelling in the challenging conditions of the Himalayas.

We are aware that many visitors to this site may be taking an interest in hydropower and dam engineering for the first time - whether as a student, a professional from another related industry, a journalist, or as a member of the public wanting to become more familiar with some aspect of water resources development.

With this in mind, over the coming weeks we will be developing for this site a Knowledge Centre, with sections aimed at those with varying levels of knowledge and experience.

Examples of material which will initially appear:

• A 'back to basics' outline of hydropower production and dam engineering, including some definitions of terminology.
• Some overviews on the role and benefits of dams and hydro plants.
• Some general statistics on some of the world's most outstanding schemes, in terms of scale, efficiency, performance.
• An index of material published in Hydropower & Dams.
• There will also be links to energy- and water-related professional associations, from which more information on some specific topics can be gained.

We welcome ideas for material to be included here, so that this area of our site can be developed to meet the needs of a broad range of visitors.

A further future development will be an inter-active forum, allowing for comment on articles published in our Journal, and on other issues of current interest.