The symposium on Optimization Techniques for Managing Groundwater and Stream‐Aquifer Systems, held at the 1983 AGU Fall Meeting, covered (1) small‐scale optimal design of well fields which were for the most part associated with the containment of contaminated groundwater, and (2) use of management models to evaluate conjunctiveuse and water allocation policy. The presentations focused on methodology and case studies which have combined groundwater flow (and contaminant transport) simulation with linear and nonlinear optimization.The 8 presentations and panel discussion brought together those who have largely shaped the field of groundwater management modeling and those who have extended and applied earlier methods and made contributions as part of recent or ongoing thesis work. After the formal presentations, Manoutch Heidari chaired the lively panel which consisted of Nathan Buras, John D. Bredehoeft, Yacov Y. Haimes, Thomas Maddock III, Gerald T. O'Mara, and Robert Willis.