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OOil;;~ Blue River - Page 3a The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) are commonly used as measurements of pollution. The BOD analysis measures the ability of the microorganisms to break- down organic matter by biochemical oxidation and the COD analysis measures the ability of the available dissolved oxygen 1n the stream to break down the organic matter by chemical oxidation. Table 2 shows the BOD and COD concentrations in the Big Blue River at Crete and Barnston. A study of this data indicates that there is very little increase 1n either BOD or COD between Crete and Barnston, 1n spite of the large amount of municipal and industrial wastes discharged into the stream. Because of the high dissolved oxygen content usually found in the river plus the reaeration which occurs when water spills over the dams, there appears to be an adequate concentration of oxygen present to carry out the necessary oxidation reactions. Since both sanitary and industrial wastes are discharged into the Big Blue River, anothe r indicator of water quality is the coliform bacteria count. Between April and September 1965 Krebs , and Rappl made a detail study of the M. P. N. Coliform in the Big 1 Rapp, William F. & Franc1 E in the Big Blue River based Water Quality Studies #2, 1966, A Study p, N, Coliform Nebraska. Krebs, upon M. Lincoln, of Water Counts. Quali ty Surface Blue River. Their work shows a correlation between flow and M. p, N, Co1ifor~ count:and that in genera ~ the highest H, p, N, Coliform COU:1ts occur at or just prior to peak flows. The H, p, N, Coliform , , analysis is a measurement of a group of organisms which include all