[en] Pollutant matter discharged into streams undergo a process of dispersion caused by turbulence and shear dispersion. A physical dilution ensues, to which in some cases is added the decay of the pollutant. Hence, a natural process of self purification results and this characteristic of the stream has a most important ecological and economical meaning. Its evaluation allows the optimization of effluent treatment works, at the same time ensuring the compliance with established water quality criteria. The use of tracres, together with the calibration of mathematical models and with the information they afford, make possible the impact assessment and the adaptive control of the effects of pollutant disposal into streams. This paper classifies the models apropriate for each discharge type, discusses the calibration methods and presents an application of these techniques to a real situation of a medium size river. (Author)