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In the North of the Entre Ríos province, a model for rice production has been developed, based in the use of superficial water from more than 60 land dams with variable surfaces. The usage of agrochemicals in the area might bring a contamination factor to the soil and dam water. The objective of this work was to determine water quality from 19 irrigation dams situated in the Central North of the Entre Ríos province through germination bioassays of Lactuca sativa, butterhead variety. Bioassays were carried out in Petri boxes with filter paper at the bottom, wet with 3 ml of corresponding sample water. Twenty seeds were sowed per box, treatments being distributed in blocks at random with 4 repetitions in germination chamber under alternating light and dark condition. Germination percentage was recorded and the average root length; a germination index was estimated. The average germination percentage of treatments was 96.07% and 97.9% in the control treatment. The germination index in all cases was higher than 60% and toxicity was not detected in the water from different dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]