A method for determining a spatially distributed set of ground‐water withdrawals that maintains a regionally “optimized” potentiometric surface is presented. A goal‐programing approach, in its quadratic form, is used to minimize the sum of squares of differences between the optimized surface and a “target” potentiometric surface. Constraints on withdrawals and recharge, imposed through a two‐dimensional ground‐water flow equation, and bounds on drawdowns assure that the withdrawal strategy developed is realistic and physically feasible. Application is demonstrated using data from the Grand Prairie region of Arkansas.