A solid-phase reagent based on 1-(4-adamantyl-2-thiasolylazo)-2-naphthol adsorbed onto silica gel was prepared for Co(II) recovery and preconcentration prior to its sorption-spectroscopic detection. The immobilized reagent was applied to the determination of free cobalt ions in natural water. The solid-phase reagent and chemiluminescent method coupled with membrane filtration, gel-permeation and ion-exchange chromatography were applied to the study of the speciation of iron and cobalt in water from the Dnieper reservoirs and lakes of Kyiv City; their predominant forms were complexes of Fe(III) and Co(II) with dissolved organic matter and fulvic acids play a main role in their complexation.