The objective of this paper is to compare the applicability of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) or biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) for quantifying biodegradable organic material (BOM) and bio-stability in distribution systems for a variety of finished waters. The study the data is derived from was part of an AWWARF and Tampa Bay Water tailored collaboration project to determine the effect of blending different waters on distribution system water quality. Seven different finished waters were produced from surface, ground, or brackish water on site and fed 18 independent pilot distribution systems (PDSs), either as single finished water or as a blend of several finished waters. AOC and BDOC have often been used as indicators of bacterial regrowth potential in distribution systems. In this study, AOC was the more useful assay of the two for the BOM concentrations observed in the PDSs. BDOC did not distinguish BOM while AOC did at the low BOM levels from many of the advanced treatments (e.g. RO, $O^3/BAC$). AOC in contrast allowed much more meaningful calculations of the consumption or production of AOC as the blends passed through the PDSs even for very low BOM blends. In addition, meaningful trends corresponding to changes in heterophic plate count (HPC) were observed for AOC but not for BDOC. Moreover, AOC stability was associated with waters produced from advanced membrane treatment.