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• Determination of ATZ and byproducts in surface water by QuEChERS-LC-DAD method. • Clean-up process efficient of samples rivers with strongly impact of human activity. • The pre-concentration step allowed to obtain a concentration factor of 24 times. • The proposed method can be successfully applied in routine analysis. • QuEChERS method allow monitoring ATZ below the regulatory limits set by legislations. Because of its agricultural prominence, Brazil outstands as one of the world's largest pesticide consumers, which has significantly contributed to the contamination of surface and groundwaters. For this reason, the present study aims to establish a method that allows the determination of atrazine (ATZ) and its degradation byproducts – atrazine-desisopropyl (DIA) and atrazine-desethyl (DEA) – in surface water samples using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method with concentration factor associated with liquid chromatography coupled to a diode-array detector (LC-DAD). The optimized method showed good linearity (r2 > 0.99), precision (RSD < 11%), and accuracy (83 to 105%), as well as limits of quantification (LOQ) close to 0.2 µg L−1 for ATZ, DIA, and DEA in surface water samples. The method was successfully applied in the analysis of natural waters from the Parana 3 River Basin, encompassed in a region with large soybean and corn production. Besides, the method proved to be efficient in the clean-up process of samples rivers with a strong impact of anthropic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]