Monitoring turbidity and Surface Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSSC) of inland waters is essential to address several important issues: erosion, sediment transport and deposition throughout watersheds, reservoir siltation, water pollution, human health risks, etc. This is especially important in regions with limited conventional monitoring capacities such as West Africa. In this study, we explore the use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data (MODIS, MODO9Q1 and MYDO9Q1 products, red (R) and near infrared (NIR) bands) to monitor turbidity and SSSC for the Bagre Reservoir in Burkina Faso. High values of these parameters associated with high spatial and temporal variability potentially challenge the methodologies developed so far for less turbid waters. Field measurements (turbidity, SSSC, radiometry) are used to evaluate different radiometric indices. The NIR/R ratio is found to be the most suited to retrieve SSSC and turbidity for both in-situ spectoradiometer measurements and satellite reflectance from MODIS. The spatio temporal variability of MODIS NIR/R together with rainfall estimated by the Tropical Rainforest Measuring Mission (TRMM) and altimetry data from Jason-2 is analyzed over the Bagre Reservoir for the 2000-2015 period. It is found that rain events of the early rainy season (February-March) through mid-rainy season (August) are decisive in triggering turbidity increase. Sediment transport is observed in the reservoir from upstream to downstream between June and September. Furthermore, a significant increase of 19% in turbidity values is observed between 2000 and 2015, mainly for the July to December period. It is especially well marked for August, with the central and downstream areas showing the largest increase. The most probable hypothesis to explain this evolution is a change in land use, and particularly an increase in the amount of bare soils, which enhances particle transport by runoff. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.