What is the importance of measuring BOD of water body?

Lochan Chandra Gupta    July 03 2022 10:54:16 AM

As we know, polluted water contains some impurities in the form of biological organic matters like algae.ln order to remove these impurities we need to breakdown these pollutants completely and this can be done by microorganism activity in presence of oxygen.So, there is a demand of oxygen for this process and this demand of oxygen is known as Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and is measured in parts per million (ppm). Higher BOD represents more polluted water and vice versa.BOD is an indirect way to measure the contaminations present in the water.Hence,we need to measure BOD of water in order to check its purity. Note: For clean water,BOD is 5 ppm and for dirty water,BOD is 17 ppm or more.

Arpita Singh    June 16 2025 02:45:15 PM

Alright, so measuring the BOD, or Biological Oxygen Demand, of a water body is really important because it tells us how much oxygen is being used by microorganisms to break down organic matter in the water.

If the BOD is high, that usually means there's a lot of pollution, like sewage or waste, in the water.

This can be bad for fish and other aquatic life because they need oxygen too.

So by measuring BOD, we can get an idea of how clean or polluted the water is, and whether it's safe for the environment and living things in it.

Sameer chaurasia     June 16 2025 02:45:51 PM

Measuring the BOD of a water body is important because it helps us understand how much organic pollution is in the water. BOD shows how much oxygen is needed by bacteria to break down that waste.

If the BOD level is too high, it means there's a lot of organic matter, which can use up the oxygen that fish and other aquatic animals need to survive.

So, checking the BOD is a good way to check the health of the water and see if it's being affected by things like sewage, industrial waste, or agricultural runoff.

Subrat    June 16 2025 02:46:57 PM

Hey, just adding to that — measuring BOD is super useful because it tells us how dirty the water might be. If there's a lot of organic waste, bacteria will use up more oxygen to break it down, which increases the BOD.

That’s bad news for fish and other animals that need oxygen to survive.

So, checking the BOD helps scientists and environmentalists figure out if the water quality is good or if it’s being polluted by things like sewage or factory waste.

It's kind of like a warning signal for water pollution.

Ritik Singh     June 16 2025 02:49:10 PM

Hey guys, just wanted to add my take — measuring BOD is important because it basically shows how much organic matter is in the water that microbes are trying to break down.

The more waste there is, the more oxygen the microbes need, which raises the BOD. If the BOD gets too high, there won’t be enough oxygen left for fish and other aquatic life.

So, it’s a good way to check if a river or lake is getting polluted and helps decide if any clean-up or treatment is needed.