The document discusses biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) which measures the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by microorganisms to break down organic material in a water sample. It describes the four phases of bacterial growth: lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase, and death phase. It then explains the BOD test procedure which involves diluting a water sample, measuring its initial dissolved oxygen, incubating it for 5 days, and measuring the final dissolved oxygen to determine the BOD value.