The new concept of embedded level crossings is combined with the old principle of stationary set balance to produce an alternative approach for obtaining the steady-state distribution of the level in a dam with general release rule. The method yields the steady state distribution of the customer waiting time in the GI/G/1 queue as a special case. Results for a dam in which the instantaneous release rate is proportional to the level, and for the M/G/1, GI/M/1, Ek/M/1 and D/M/1 queues are derived using the new technique.
