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Octadecyl (C₁₈)-bonded porous silica was evaluated for the extraction of triazines, organochlorine, carbamates and acidic pesticides from surface and ground water. Gas chromatography with selected detection methods (electron-capture detection, nitrogen–phosphorus detection, mass spectrometry) and liquid chromatography–post-column derivatization fluorescence detection was employed for the determination of 32 pesticides. Recoveries varied from 52 to 102%. The recoveries of triazines obtained using C₁₈ extraction cartridges and conventional liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) are compared. The limit of detection for seventeen organochlorine compounds was better than 0.003 μg/l and the limit of detection for other 15 analytes was better than 0.06 μg/l. The proposed analytical methodology was applied to analyze pesticides in surface and ground-water samples of the Lassithi Plateau, Crete, Greece.