Edith Zagona

Edith Zagona is a Research Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she also serves as Director of the Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES). With a career spanning over three decades at the university, she has made significant contributions to water resources management through research, software development, and international collaboration.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1992), an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins (1983), a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson (1978), and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Arizona, Tucson (1975).

Dr. Zagona's research focuses on water resource systems and modeling, with particular emphasis on planning and operations of multi-objective river and reservoir systems. Her work integrates hydropower modeling and optimization with development of decision support tools for water resources management under conditions of climate uncertainty. She has pioneered approaches to decision making under deep uncertainty, helping water managers navigate complex trade-offs between competing objectives such as water supply, hydropower generation, environmental flows, and recreational uses. Her expertise extends to analysis and adaptive management for climate change impacts on water systems.

Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on the Colorado River Basin, where she applies advanced decision science techniques to address long-term planning challenges under climate change. She has also made significant contributions to understanding transboundary water issues, particularly regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River. Her work bridges technical water resources engineering with policy-relevant decision support, creating tools that help stakeholders evaluate trade-offs and identify robust management strategies across multiple sectors.

Dr. Zagona's scientific recognition includes:

• Principal Inventor of RiverWare^®, a river, reservoir and hydropower management software licensed by CU Office of Technology Transfer and used by hundreds of water managers globally
• Release of RiverWare 9.4 in January 2025
• Development of associated tools including RiverSMART, RiverWISE, and Demand Input Tool

As Director of CADSWES, she leads a team that has secured approximately $2 million per year in research funding from agencies including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bonneville Power Administration. She has advised numerous graduate students and has developed and taught courses on water resources management, optimization, and fluid mechanics. Her technical expertise has been sought internationally, with training workshops conducted in India, Mexico, China, Sudan, and Armenia, demonstrating the global impact of her work on water resources management practices.

CADSWES, under Dr. Zagona's leadership, has become a premier center for developing and applying decision support systems for river basin planning and management. The center's work with RiverWare^® has transformed how water managers approach complex operational decisions across river systems worldwide, integrating engineering principles with decision science to address contemporary water challenges.