This volume, ""Risk-Based Decision Making in Water Resources VIII"", comprises edited papers from the proceedings of the Eighth Engineering Foundation Conference held in Santa Barbara, California, on October 12-17, 1997. 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 seven conferences, a sense of maturity prevailed during the five days of intensive sessions. Legislative initiatives and risk assessment, climate change, El Nino, maintenance and rehabilitation, reliability of physical infrastructure, and the risk of extreme events were among the main topics that dominated the discussion. Intensive brainstorming sessions revealed what many participants have known earlier: 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.