Abstract Rhizofiltrationwas used to decrease   Cuin   water having  5 , to  20 mg Cu L^-1   using water lettuce (Pistiastratiots)  in  water culture (5-L pot capacity ), with a contact time of  5, 10, 15 and 20 days.Weight of Plant growth  was 21.90 , 17.00, 14.61, 12.39 ,and 10.52 for treatments of  0 , 5 , 10, 15 and 20 mg CuL^-1  in absence of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) respectively. SLS treatment showed negative effect on the biomas production. Removal of Cu from water occurred with all Cu-treaments without SLS. Averages  were 489.03, 575.51, 644.68 and 693.42   ug Cu pot^-1   for treatments of  5,10,15 and 20  mg pot^-1 respectively. Respective removals caused by root uptake were 76.75, 106.43, 132.11 and 195.75 ug  pot^-1  respectively. Cu in shoots ranged from 28 to 61 ugCu g^-1 and in roots the range was 35to 150 ug Cu g^-1 dry matter. Adding SLSto water increased the removal of Cu. The chelating effect of the SLS made the metal more easily available. Copper in untreated plants (no SLS) were low, while the SLS- treated plants were capable of extracting large amounts of copper. The chelating effect of the SLS on metal increased its availability to water lettuce (Pistiastratiots).