By-product waters from two commercial steam flood tar sand bitumen recovery operations were screened for organic solutes by a variety of techniques. Analyses indicated that the total dissolved organic carbon content of these waters was around 100 ppm. These waters were screened using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography and capillary-column gas chromatography, each used with specialized detectors. The liquid chromatographic detectors were ultraviolet absorbance at 205 nm and fluorescence after a post-column reaction system using cerate oxidation. For gas chromatography, detectors were the flame ionization detector, the thermionic ionization detector, and the electron capture detector (after p-bromophenacyl bromide derivatization). The absence of low-molecular-weight hydrophilic organic species in appreciable concentrations and the evidence of high-molecular-weight organophilic solutes indicate that the hydrophilic organic carbon content is primarily humic or bituminous materials. The deficit in the inorganic cation balance indicates that some of the hydrophilic organic solutes may be catonic at pH 7. In general, those methods that have been found readily applicable for gas combustion-process by-product waters need to be expanded for nonpyrolytically produced process waters. Separation and detection of materials with poor ultraviolet absorbance at very low levels is a fertile area for research. The fundamental material balance methods upon which much of the inference of this work rests are always suspect in highly salt-loaded waters such as these. The validity under the conditions imposed by these waters needs to be demonstrated. 6 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.