We aimed at analyzing Chlorophyll-a and CDOM dynamics from field measurements and at assessing the potential of multispectral satellite data for retrieving water-quality parameters in three small surface reservoirs in the Brazilian semiarid region. More specifically, this work comprises i) analysis of Chl-a and trophic dynamics; ii) characterization of CDOM; iii) estimation of Chl-a and CDOM from OLI/Landsat-8 and RapidEye imagery. The monitoring lasted 20 months within a multi-year drought, which contributed to water-quality deterioration. Chl-a and trophic state analysis showed a highly eutrophic status for the perennial reservoir during the entire study period, while the non-perennial reservoirs ranged from oligotrophic to eutrophic, with changes associated with the first events of the rainy season. CDOM characterization suggests that the perennial reservoir is mostly influenced by autochthonous sources, while allochthonous sources dominate the non-perennial ones. Spectral-group classification assigned the perennial as CDOM-moderate and highly eutrophic reservoir, whereas the non-perennial ones were assigned as CDOM-rich and oligotrophic-dystrophic reservoirs. The remote sensing initiative was partially successful: the Chl-a was best modelled using RapidEye for the perennial; whereas CDOM performed best with Landsat-8 for non-perennial reservoirs. This investigation showed high potential for retrieving water quality parameters in dry areas with small reservoirs.