Whether your drinking water comes from a lake, river, reservoir, or groundwater, it is important to protect the source from contamination. One of the best ways to protect your drinking water is to prevent pollution from getting into your drinking water source. Your drinking water can become polluted with animal waste, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, motor oil, gasoline, and other substances as they get carried to the source by runoff pollution.

Access to safe drinking water is essential to human health. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) administers and enforces drinking water quality standards and regulations – working with public water systems to keep our drinking water safe. South Carolina's water systems have a very high overall compliance with all chemical and biological drinking water standards and federal lead action levels.

Learn more about drinking water via the following information, resources, and links.

Groundwater treatment systems are broken into two categories. They are the construction of new wells and the modification of existing wells. Construction for either of these two categories will require a construction permit before the work is started and a permit to operate before being used.

To receive a construction permit, it is required that the plans, specifications and design calculations for the proposed project be submitted to the appropriate Section of SCDES for review and approval. Refer to Regulation 61-58.2 for information on groundwater sources and their treatment.

Public Water System

• If you receive a water bill, then your drinking water most likely is from a public water system.
• Public water systems perform routine tests regulated by Federal and State standards.
• Public water systems (that serve the same people year round) are required by law to provide their customers with a water quality report, also know

Safe Drinking Water Act (Federal Law)

• A federal law which ensures safe drinking water for Americans
• Under this law the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for water quality of drinking water and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.
• EPA sets standards for approximately 90 contaminants in drinking water

State Safe Drinking Water Act (State Law)

• South Carolina state law that ensures safe drinking water for the citizens of South Carolina.

A high level of lead in drinking water can cause health concerns, particularly in children. That's why DHEC works to ensure that public water systems adhere to drinking water quality standards and regulations. Lead is rarely in drinking water when it leaves the treatment plant; however, it can seep into the water from old plumbing along the way.

Water treatment plants are classified based on system size and type as defined by R. 44-55 State Safe Drinking Water Act.

A small water system is one that has its own well, or is served through a metered connection from a publicly-owned water system and has less than 1,000 feet of distribution piping that serves the following:

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.

In order to comply with the provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, SC DHEC is authorized to collect a fee from each public water system based on the number of taps through which the system provides water to its customers.