Knowledge about degradation rates of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) is important in order to design, optimize and model the biofiltration processes for drinking water production.The necessary empty bed contact time in biofilters cannot be adequately determined, if the biodegradation rate is not known. This study describes the main proposals for the model optimization based on two year pilot and laboratory scale study results and literature data. The results showed that: (i) there is a positive effect of the temperature and negative effect of the ozonation on the biomass; (ii) biomass concentration decreases as a function of filter depth; (iii) the concentration of organic matter decreases exponentially and (iv) first order kinetic equation was applicable to the observed BDOC removal rates. The described parameters are significant for development of biofilter mathematical model.