Risk-based Decision Making in Water Resources

This volume, ""Risk-Based Decision Making in Water Resources VII"", comprises edited papers from the proceedings of the Seventh Engineering Foundation Conference held in Santa Barbara, California on October 8-13, 1995. Participants from government, industry, and universities shared their knowledge and experience in the rapidly growing field of risk-based decision making in water resources. Although, many of the topics and lingering issues were addressed in at least one or more of the previous six conferences, a sense of maturity prevailed during the five days of intensive sessions. Legislative initiatives and risk assessment, climate change, maintenance and rehabilitation, reliability of physical infrastructure, and risk of extreme events were among the main topics that dominated the discussion. Intensive brainstorming sessions revealed what many participants have already known. As we succeed in developing theory and methodology in risk assessment and management and apply them to water resources problems, much more remains to be addressed in future conferences and research.