It is no longer possible in any area of the United States to formulate water resources plans for single purpose projects as has been done in past years. No longer can one of our greatest natural resources, water, be used solely for navigation, power generation, irrigation, or controlled for reducing floods. This resource must now serve a multitude of purposes in our society. Determining the present status of our water resources, what the future requirements will be, how to plan for these future needs, and implementation of these plans represents a major undertaking of local, State, and Federal authorities having interests in this field. In the Pacific Northwest, the Willamette Basin Task Force, acting under the auspices of the Columbia Basin Inter-Agency Committee, has been created to provide the coordinating mechanism for the prosecution of a comprehensive study for the management and development of the water and related land resources of the Willamette River Basin. This study is presently underway. In this thesis, information was collected from individuals associated with the Task Force, from minutes of meetings, and from other publications not readily available, to provide a single document giving the organization and objectives of the Task Force. The National comprehensive planning mechanism was studied to provide background information relating to the evolution of the Task Force and its operation. Water quality control is one of the areas of investigation of the Willamette Basin Task Force. It is directly related to and influenced by the several other multiple-purpose uses of the basin's water resources. It is this aspect of the comprehensive planning mechanism that has been considered in this thesis to evaluate what progress is being made in planning for present and future water quality control requirements for the basin. The results of this study indicate that additional study will be necessary, after further progress has been made by the Task Force, to fully evaluate the planning procedures and accomplishments of the Task Force. Conclusions indicate problems that have been encountered using this particular approach to water resources comprehensive planning. Various problems in the water pollution phase of the study are discussed. Several research study areas are suggested as a means of solving water quality problems which exist now in the Willamette River Basin and those water quality problems which are anticipated in the future as greater demands are placed on this resource.