Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the application of the new method in laboratory studies of water quality and to determine the optimal conditions for analysis.Materials and methods. Generally accepted methods of analytical chemistry were used to determine the rate of the catalytic oxidation reaction and its practical yield. All measurements were subjected to standard statistical processing.Results. The stages and results of determining the optimal conditions of photocatalytic oxidation are presented. The prospects of using photocatalysis in sanitary supervision institutions are shown.Conclusion. The photocatalytic oxidizing system UV-nano-TiO2-K2Cr2O7 meets all the requirements for the methodology of chemical oxygen demand (COD) determination and is even more rapid, reproducible and accurate in comparison with the certified arbitration method.