In this work, a new method that utilizes L-cysteine salicylaldehyde Schiff-base modified macroporous polystyrene resin (PS-CSC) as an effective sorbent has been developed for preconcentration of trace cadmium and lead in environmental water samples. The effect of pH, the contact time, the elution conditions, the flow rate, the initial concentration of target metal ions, and the effects of interfering ions on the preconcentration of the analytes were investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity of PS-CSC under optimum conditions for cadmium and lead were found to be 6.03 - 18.17 mg/g and 12.58 - 36.13 mg/g when the initial concentration of metal ions between 5.0 - 90 mg/L. The limits of detection for cadmium and lead were 2.46 ng/L and $0.52{mu}g/L$, with a preconcentration factor of 200. The developed method has been validated by analyzing certified reference material and successfully applied for the enrichment and determination of trace cadmium and lead from environmental water samples.