ISO 5815-1:2019 specifies the determination of the biochemical oxygen demand of waters by dilution and seeding with suppression of nitrification after 5 d or 7 d incubation time.

It is applicable to all waters having biochemical oxygen demands usually between 1 mg/l and 6 000 mg/l. It applies particularly to waste waters but also suits for the analysis of natural waters. For biochemical oxygen demands greater than 6 000 mg/l of oxygen, the method is still applicable, but special care is needed taking into consideration the representativeness of subsampling for preparation of the dilution steps. The results obtained are the product of a combination of biochemical and chemical reactions in presence of living matter which behaves only with occasional reproducibility. The results do not have the rigorous and unambiguous character of those resulting from, for example, a single, well-defined, chemical process. Nevertheless, the results provide an indication from which the quality of waters can be estimated.