Surface sediment quality was assessed during a 35-day artificial flood in a shallow (<1.5 m) oxbow lake along the Coldwater River, Mississippi, using Hyalella azteca 28-day bioassays. Seventeen pesticides were monitored in sediments before, during and after flooding, with increases in atrazine and metolachlor concentrations coinciding with two unexpected storm events, 51 and 56 mm, during and after flooding, respectively. Mean 28-day H. azteca survival was >85% throughout this study. However, growth was affected at three sites during flooding with limited growth recovery after flooding. Patterns in observed growth impairment were associated with changes in atrazine (R(2)=0.524) and fipronil sulfone (R(2)=0.584) concentrations.