Operator Classification | South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution licenses are issued through Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Board of Environmental Certification. General information on licensing requirements is listed below.

Treatment Plant Group	Description	Treatment Certification Required
I	A facility which provides disinfection treatment using a sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite solution as the disinfectant.	E
II	A facility that provides disinfection treatment using gaseous chlorine or chloramine disinfection or includes sequestering, fluoridation, or corrosion control treatment.that	D
III	A facility treating a groundwater source that is not under the direct influence of surface water, utilizing aeration, coagulation, sedimentation, lime softening, filtration, chlorine dioxide, ozone, ultra-violet light disinfection, powdered activated carbon addition, granular activated carbon filtration or ion exchange, or membrane technology or that includes sludge storage or a sludge dewatering process.	C
IV	A facility treating a surface water source or a groundwater source that is under the direct influence of surface water, utilizing aeration, coagulation, clarification with a minimum detention time of two hours in the clarification unit, lime softening, rapid rate gravity filtration (up to four gallons per minute per square foot), slow sand filtration, chlorine dioxide, powdered activated carbon addition, or granular activated carbon filtration or ion exchange or that includes sludge storage or a sludge dewatering process. This classification also includes any treatment facility that does not provide filtration for a surface water source or a groundwater source which is under the direct influence of surface water.	C
V	A facility treating a surface water source or a groundwater source that is under the direct influence of surface water, utilizing high-rate gravity filtration (greater than four gallons per minute per square foot), clarification with a detention time of less than two hours in the clarification unit, diatomaceous earth filtration, or ultraviolet light disinfection.	B
VI	A facility treating a surface water source or a groundwater source which is under the direct influence of surface water, utilizing direct filtration, membrane technology, or ozone.	A
VII	Drinking water dispensing stations and vending machines that utilize water from an approved public water system or bottled water plants that treat water from the distribution system of a public water system or from a groundwater source that is not under the direct influence of surface water.	Bottled Water Class License

Distribution

The addition of distribution system groupings and associated operator requirements will ensure that people making decisions concerning the operation of distribution system which could affect public health meet minimum standards for distribution system operator certification.

Distribution System Group	Description	Distribution Certification Required
I	Distribution systems associated with state and transient noncommunity water systems.	None
II	Distribution systems associated with community and nontransient noncommunity public water systems that have a reliable production capacity* not greater than six hundred thousand gallons a day and which do not provide fire protection.	D
III	Distribution systems associated with community and nontransient noncommunity water systems which have a reliable production capacity* greater than six hundred thousand gallons a day but not greater than six million gallons a day (MGD) or have a reliable production capacity not greater than six hundred thousand gallons a day and provide fire protection.	C
IV	Distribution systems associated with community and nontransient noncommunity water systems which have a reliable production capacity* than six MGD, but not greater than twenty MGD.	B
V	Distribution systems associated with community and nontransient noncommunity water systems which have a reliable production capacity* greater than twenty MGD.	A

* The reliable production capacity of a water system for the purpose of determining distribution system grouping means the total capacity of a water system including all wells, surface water sources and purchased sources. This capacity is determined by the Department as a part of routine sanitary surveys and is available through your EA Regional Office sanitary survey contact.