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• A new implementation of the FP method for storage systems leads to a more accurate objective function evaluation especially in nonlinear cases and to a vectorized unconstrained optimization problem solved many times faster. • FP results as compared to stochastic dynamic programming and novel two-stage stochastic programming results show its overall superiority. • A multi-reservoir application of the FP model is developed with corrective simulations to estimate moments of spillway flows and all other covariance terms. The Fletcher-Ponnambalam (FP) method is an explicit stochastic optimization method for design and operations management of real-world storage systems including surface water reservoir and groundwater management problems. The FP method faces no curse of dimensionality and no need for scenario generation. The paper introduces a novel implementation for the FP method, named FP-2022 here for clarity, by removing the need for nonlinear constraints and by decreasing the number of decision variables to just one third of its original value, significantly reducing solving time (∼27 times faster than the original formulation). Additionally, new expressions derived for the first and second moments of both reservoir release deficit and surplus variables and the already-derived expression for the second moments of reservoir storages are incorporated into the FP-2022 formulation enabling the method to reach an improved optimality for a nonlinear objective function. The enhanced procedure is applied to solving a reservoir operation optimization problem for a major dam in Brazil. The result comparisons made with other methods along with a thorough analysis of release operation policies prove the optimality of this highly numerically efficient and convenient-to-use FP-2022 method. Finally, a multi-reservoir application of the model is also tested with corrective simulations for improved estimates of some additional variables of interest. A specific constraint-handling approach regarding reservoir release lower and upper bounds is also presented. Satisfactory results are obtained for solving the Parambikulam-Aliyar reservoir system, a real world five-reservoir operation optimization problem from India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]