The primary objective of this study was to develop a rapid, economic method of assessing water quality and productivity in surface impoundments. Airborne video cameras equipped with narrow band filters were used to assess chlorophyll-a concentration in flood retention reservoirs of the Little Washita River Watershed in central Oklahoma. The video data was calibrated by converting raw data (digital numbers) into radiance values (uW/cm\sp2/sr) and further processed into reflectance values by the incorporation of solar irradiance data. Results indicate that chlorophyll-a concentration in reservoirs may be approximated using airborne video imagery and that this relationship is best described by the model y=a\sb0(1-e\sp−x/40). Studies utilizing aerial videography may be performed more quickly and are less expensive than traditional field-based studies.