The conceptual requirements of future data acquisition and monitoring instrumentation systems for the efficient operation and management of a highly developed river basin system, such as envisaged for the Trinity River Canalization project were investigated. A practical inventory analysis was made of the entire river system, considering all major features, facilities and points of stress. The complexity of the entire system was evaluated and the feasibility of using a real-time data acquisition system of the Trinity River and its tributaries based on a closed-loop, feedback management systems approach was considered. A more detailed practical inventory analysis was made of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a large urbanized region. Stationary continuous monitoring, mobile continuous monitoring and a regular grab sampling program were proposed. The problem of managing the waters of a river basin that are under increasing environmental stress because of rapid in-basin industrial growth was discussed. An algorithm, coded into Fortran 4, was suggested as a preliminary input to solving this problem that combines combinatorial analysis with a network plan routine. (Author)