South Carolina PFAS results from EPA's final data
Report published Nov 14, 2026 · EPA UCMR 5 final data file of Oct 15, 2026 (samples collected 2023–2025) · Method · National results →
53 South Carolina water systems serving 2 million people had PFAS above a 2024 federal limit in EPA's final round of nationwide PFAS testing: 33% of the 163 South Carolina systems tested, compared with 11% nationally.
Highest PFOA or PFOS averages in South Carolina
- Gaffney Bpw Water System Gaffney · PFOA16.9 ppt
- Grassy Pond Water Company Inc Gaffney · PFOS15.6 ppt
- Town of Winnsboro Winnsboro · PFOS15.4 ppt
- Goucher Water District Pacolet · PFOS14.5 ppt
- Draytonville Water District Gaffney · PFOS11.6 ppt
- Town of Blacksburg Blacksburg · PFOA10.9 ppt
- Batesburg Leesville Dept. of Public Works Batesburg-Leesville · PFOS10.6 ppt
- Midcounty Water District 2 Winnsboro · PFOS10 ppt
- City of Newberry Newberry · PFOS9.25 ppt
- City of Georgetown Georgetown · PFOS8.82 ppt
- City of North Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach · PFOS8.63 ppt
- Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission Laurens · PFOS8.05 ppt
- Saluda County Water & Sewer Authority Saluda · PFOS7.92 ppt
- McCormick County Water & Sewer Authority McCormick · PFOS7.88 ppt
- Saluda Commission of Public Works Saluda · PFOS7.85 ppt
Chart data as a table
| System | ppt |
|---|---|
| Gaffney Bpw Water System · Gaffney · PFOA | 16.9 |
| Grassy Pond Water Company Inc · Gaffney · PFOS | 15.6 |
| Town of Winnsboro · Winnsboro · PFOS | 15.4 |
| Goucher Water District · Pacolet · PFOS | 14.5 |
| Draytonville Water District · Gaffney · PFOS | 11.6 |
| Town of Blacksburg · Blacksburg · PFOA | 10.9 |
| Batesburg Leesville Dept. of Public Works · Batesburg-Leesville · PFOS | 10.6 |
| Midcounty Water District 2 · Winnsboro · PFOS | 10 |
| City of Newberry · Newberry · PFOS | 9.25 |
| City of Georgetown · Georgetown · PFOS | 8.82 |
| City of North Myrtle Beach · North Myrtle Beach · PFOS | 8.63 |
| Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission · Laurens · PFOS | 8.05 |
| Saluda County Water & Sewer Authority · Saluda · PFOS | 7.92 |
| McCormick County Water & Sewer Authority · McCormick · PFOS | 7.88 |
| Saluda Commission of Public Works · Saluda · PFOS | 7.85 |
Largest systems above a limit
| # | System | People served |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of Columbia Columbia Above: PFOA, PFOS | 354,068 |
| 2 | Charleston Water System Charleston Above: PFOA, PFOS | 278,771 |
| 3 | Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority/Bull Creek Conway Above: PFOA, PFOS | 252,840 |
| 4 | Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority Okatie Above: PFOA, PFOS | 164,829 |
| 5 | Mt Pleasant Waterworks Mount Pleasant Above: PFOS | 91,500 |
| 6 | Summerville Commission of Public Works Summerville Above: PFOA, PFOS | 81,750 |
| 7 | City of Florence Florence Above: PFOS | 79,745 |
| 8 | Joint Municipal WSC Lexington Above: PFOS | 54,868 |
| 9 | Greenwood Commission of Public Works Greenwood Above: PFOA, PFOS, HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 52,022 |
| 10 | Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission Laurens Above: PFOA, PFOS, HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 44,866 |
All 53 South Carolina systems above a limit
Every South Carolina community water system whose UCMR 5 results averaged above a 2024 federal PFAS limit, largest first. Systems that were not tested are not listed: not tested is not the same as not detected.
Full list: 53 systems, largest first
| System | People served |
|---|---|
| City of Columbia Columbia Above: PFOA, PFOS | 354,068 |
| Charleston Water System Charleston Above: PFOA, PFOS | 278,771 |
| Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority/Bull Creek Conway Above: PFOA, PFOS | 252,840 |
| Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority Okatie Above: PFOA, PFOS | 164,829 |
| Mt Pleasant Waterworks Mount Pleasant Above: PFOS | 91,500 |
| Summerville Commission of Public Works Summerville Above: PFOA, PFOS | 81,750 |
| City of Florence Florence Above: PFOS | 79,745 |
| Joint Municipal WSC Lexington Above: PFOS | 54,868 |
| Greenwood Commission of Public Works Greenwood Above: PFOA, PFOS, HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 52,022 |
| Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission Laurens Above: PFOA, PFOS, HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 44,866 |
| City of North Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach Above: PFOA, PFOS | 43,883 |
| Gcwsd Waccamaw Neck Water System Pawleys Island Above: PFOA, PFOS | 41,300 |
| Dcwa Knightsville Water System Summerville Above: PFOA, PFOS | 40,141 |
| City of West Columbia West Columbia Above: PFOA, PFOS | 34,028 |
| Fort Jackson Water System Columbia Above: PFOA, PFOS | 31,000 |
| Dcws Ashley Phosphate Water System North Charleston Above: PFOA, PFOS | 26,536 |
| Lugoff Elgin Water Authority Lugoff Above: PFOA, PFOS | 25,783 |
| Gaffney Bpw Water System Gaffney Above: PFOA, PFOS | 24,290 |
| Town of Lexington Lexington Above: PFOS | 24,284 |
| St John's Water Johns Island Above: PFOA, PFOS | 22,592 |
| City of Camden Camden Above: PFOA | 19,076 |
| City of Cayce Cayce Above: PFOA, PFOS | 17,460 |
| City of Union Union Above: PFOA | 13,076 |
| BCWSA East Cooper Moncks Corner Above: PFOA, PFOS | 12,933 |
| Newberry County Water & Sewer Authority Newberry Above: PFOS | 11,157 |
| City of Newberry Newberry Above: PFOA, PFOS | 10,810 |
| Town of Winnsboro Winnsboro Above: PFOS | 10,391 |
| Grassy Pond Water Company Inc Gaffney Above: PFOA, PFOS | 9,895 |
| Kiawah Island Utility Kiawah Island Above: PFOS | 9,550 |
| Isle of Palms Water & Sewer Commission Isle of Palms Above: PFOS | 9,530 |
| City of Georgetown Georgetown Above: PFOA, PFOS | 9,092 |
| Shaw AFB Sumter Above: PFOS, PFHxS | 9,000 |
| City of Moncks Corner Moncks Corner Above: PFOA, PFOS | 8,956 |
| City of Clinton Clinton Above: PFOA, PFOS | 8,938 |
| McCormick County Water & Sewer Authority McCormick Above: PFOS | 8,500 |
| BGWC I-20 West Columbia Above: PFOS | 7,435 |
| Meansville Riley Water District Union Above: PFOA, PFOS | 7,368 |
| Batesburg Leesville Dept. of Public Works Batesburg-Leesville Above: PFOA, PFOS | 6,814 |
| City of Belton Belton Above: HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 6,762 |
| Town of Seabrook Island Seabrook Above: PFOS | 5,939 |
| City of Abbeville Abbeville Above: HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 5,650 |
| Draytonville Water District Gaffney Above: PFOA, PFOS | 5,456 |
| Goucher Water District Pacolet Above: PFOA, PFOS | 5,426 |
| Donalds-Due West Water & Sewer Authority Donalds Above: HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 5,200 |
| City of Folly Beach Folly Beach Above: PFOA, PFOS | 5,086 |
| Saluda County Water & Sewer Authority Saluda Above: PFOS | 5,060 |
| Town of Honea Path Honea Path Above: HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 4,386 |
| Town of Blacksburg Blacksburg Above: PFOA, PFOS | 3,963 |
| Fripp Island Public Service District Fripp Island Above: PFOS | 3,536 |
| Midcounty Water District 2 Winnsboro Above: PFOS | 3,500 |
| Saluda Commission of Public Works Saluda Above: PFOA, PFOS, HFPO-DA, Hazard Index | 3,390 |
| Town of Ware Shoals Ware Shoals Above: PFOS | 3,174 |
| Dcwa Calomet Valley Water System Summerville Above: PFOS | 275 |
The same list, with PFOA and PFOS averages, is in the data download.
Which limits were exceeded
| PFAS | Federal limit | Systems above it |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA 1.7 million people | 4 ppt | 32 |
| PFOS 2 million people | 4 ppt | 47 |
| PFHxS 9,000 people | 10 ppt | 1 |
| PFNA | 10 ppt | 0 |
| GenX (HFPO-DA) 122,276 people | 10 ppt | 7 |
| Hazard Index 122,276 people | 1 | 7 |
"–" in the table above means not detected. A system can be above more than one limit. EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and Hazard Index limits. That proposal is not final.
Data and how to cite it
- Download every South Carolina water system as CSV (PFOA and PFOS averages, systems above a limit, lead, violations).
- EPA's source file: UCMR 5 occurrence data.
Suggested citation:
Tap Water Results, "South Carolina PFAS results from EPA's final UCMR 5 data" (published Nov 14, 2026, EPA data file of Oct 15, 2026). https://tapwaterresults.com/pfas/south-carolina/
You're welcome to quote and republish these figures with a link back. Questions from reporters: see contact.
Method
For each system we average each entry point's UCMR 5 results (non-detects count as zero, complete sets of samples only) and compare the highest entry-point average with the 2024 federal limit, using EPA's rounding. This is how EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits in its own data summary, and our national counts match EPA's published table within 2% (how we check). Results are monitoring data from 2023–2025, not compliance determinations, and treatment installed since then is not reflected. Full method.
Questions
How many South Carolina water systems have PFAS above the limit?
53 of the 163 South Carolina community water systems EPA tested in 2023–2025 (33%) had at least one entry-point average above a 2024 federal PFAS limit. They serve 2 million people. Nationally the share is 11%.
Are these systems violating the law?
Not yet. Systems have until 2029 to meet the 2024 limits, and EPA has proposed moving the PFOA and PFOS deadline to 2031 and rescinding the other limits. EPA's UCMR 5 results are monitoring data and do not determine compliance.
Which systems were tested?
EPA's UCMR 5 tested every community water system serving more than 3,300 people and a representative sample of smaller ones. Systems that were not tested have no federal result, which is not the same as having no PFAS.
All South Carolina water systems → · National results → · PFAS results for every state →
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.