We present a study of single color (2 + 1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of H2O, D2O, and HDO via several Rydberg states lying in the energy range from 80000 to 86000 cm(-1). Photoelectron spectra (PES) show that the corresponding cations can be vibrationally state-selected for most vibrational states. The exception is the bend of H2O+ and HDO+, where mixing in the REMPI intermediate level results in weak ion intensity and only similar to 50% state purity. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.