The report attempts to develop an alternative water management scheme for the Atchafalaya Basin. In the development of this scheme, the Basin is viewed as a product of the interaction between physical, chemical, biological, and human systems. Much emphasis is placed on the requirements for management of overflow swamp areas, which form the most productive biological resource of the Basin. Most essential to this type of environment is an annual influx of water from the adjacent stream channels through overbank flooding, unimpeded movement of inflowing water through the swamp, and drainage from the lower end. The major threat to the overflow swamp environment is the present influx of sediment, insufficient overbank flooding, and insufficient interior circulation.