Effects of water contamination with perchlorate and hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] on the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus were assessed. The chronic (10-day) LC50s values for perchlorate and chromium were 74+/-8.0 mg/L and 0.41+/-0.15 mg/L, respectively. Relative Growth Index, a measure of growth and mortality rates in a population, was significantly reduced within 5 days for levels of perchlorate as low as 25 mg/L and for levels of chromium as low as 0.16 mg/L. Neither compound altered wing length of surviving adults. In combination, contaminants were synergistic, causing 14% more mortality than predicted. Acute (24-h) LC50 values for perchlorate and Cr (VI) were 17,000+/-3200 and 38+/-1.3 mg/L, respectively. Effects on mosquito larvae in contaminated environments are likely to be observed for Cr (VI) but not for perchlorate, which generally does not occur at levels as high as those shown here to affect larval mosquitoes.