Studies indicate that agricultural land use has a significant effect on water quality of the Great Lakes and is now considered as one of the principal water quality problems in Southern Ontario. From an agricultural standpoint there exists a need to determine causes and impact levels of water quality problems in subsurface drainage. A three year water quality study of selected farms in the Parkhill Creek watershed was initiated in May, 1986. The following is a progress report of the first year and half of the research. Included in this report is an outline of the procedure, an analysis of the bacterial and chemical parameters studied, and the recommendations for the next years of study.