The CDA regrets to inform the dam safety community that W. Edgar Watt passed peacefully at Kingston General Hospital on January 4, 2025 at the age of 86. Ed was an excellent teacher and renowned researcher who was an incredible mentor to many in civil engineering over his 35 year career. Ed was a member of the CDA for many years and contributed to several flood hydrology workshops during conferences.
Ed Watt graduated from Queen’s with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering in 1960 and 1962. Ed continued his studies at Imperial College London and the London School of Economics, and then received his PhD in Hydraulics from the University of Toronto in 1966. Ed was an athletic student who enjoyed playing ice hockey, baseball, and various other sports.
Ed began his teaching and research career at Queen’s University in 1966. He soon became well known within the water resources community in Canada, conducting research primarily in the area of flooding. His interest in flood management was inspired by witnessing the flood damage from Hurricane Hazel north of Toronto when his high school football team was competing for the Ontario title in 1954. Additionally, he was active in the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) and the Canadian Dam Association (CDA). Ed contributed to journal articles and short courses in both organizations, served on committees, and in 1992 received the CWRA National Distinguished Service Award.
Ed always stressed to his students that hydrology is not an exact science and that it is very important to communicate the uncertainty involved with the results of your estimates. Ed was well known for his technical acumen, strategic thinking, writing skills, patient mentoring, practicality, and ability to consolidate a group of professionals with differing opinions.
In 1973, Ed participated in a year-long executive exchange between Environment Canada and Queen's University. During this assignment he worked with a small group in the Inland Waters Directorate to begin a national flood risk mapping program. Among many publications, Ed was the Editor-in-Chief of Hydrology of Floods in Canada: A Guide to Planning and Design. This was a 1989 publication by the National Research Council of Canada and is still widely used today by practicing hydrologists. From 2018 to 2020 Ed served on a technical advisory committee for the British Columbia Extreme Flood Project where he contributed greatly to a regional flood frequency and extreme rainfall event analysis project, primarily for the hydrotechnical design of dams in the province. Ed’s contributions to hydrology in Canada have made an everlasting impression.
He retired from teaching in 2001 but continued to supervise some graduate students for a few more years, to complete various consulting projects, and to spend time at his family Camp on Fairbank Lake near Sudbury.
Ed will be dearly missed by his friends, family, and academic colleagues.
