Criteria were developed for management decisions affecting the optimization of a complex river system. A number of newly-developed tools in the field of water resources planning were critically evaluated for use under realistic situations. The hydrology of the Truckee River System, Nevada and California, was examined defining the inputs, the hydrologic interactions, and the outputs from the system. Techniques for streamflow data synthesis were examined to determine which of the several methods available was best suited to the multiple-site study. The hydrologic model together with the synthetic flows generated provided a simulation model of the system which was combined with an optimization technique for optimal policy determination. This method of combining the hydrology of the system, streamflow synthesis, and an optimization technique is valid and valuable. (WRSIC abstract)