Lead Contamination

Lead in South Carolina Drinking Water

Ranked by 90th percentile lead level (ppb) · Data from EPA SDWIS & UCMR

196

Cities Tested

Exceeds Limit

% Exceeds Limit

2.0 ppb

State Avg

▼ 1% vs national

vs National

151

Health Violations

Analysis

Lead in South Carolina: what the data shows

South Carolina has 196 cities with lead monitoring data, with very few cities exceeding the EPA action level of 15 ppb. The state average 90th percentile lead level is 2.0 ppb, compared to 3.3 ppb nationally — better than the national average. 2 cities exceed the 15 ppb action level. High lead levels in tap water typically indicate aging infrastructure — lead service lines, lead solder in older plumbing, or lead-containing brass fixtures. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. The 90th percentile measurement means that 90% of tap samples in a city are at or below the reported level. This is the standard EPA uses under the Lead and Copper Rule to determine if a water system needs to take corrective action. An NSF 53-certified pitcher or under-sink filter can effectively remove lead at the tap.

Comparison

Cities exceeding 15 ppb EPA Action Level

South Carolina

2 of 196 cities

← ▼ 1% below national rate (better)

National avg

378 of 15681 cities

City Map

Lead data across South Carolina

Each dot is a city, colored by overall water quality grade. Cities with lead levels above the 15 ppb EPA action level are highlighted. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by lead level in South Carolina

Highest Lead levels (ppb)

All Cities

All South Carolina cities ranked by lead level

#	City	Level	Exceeds?	Violations	Grade
1	Edisto Beach	34.0 ppb	Yes	13	C
2	Santee	17.0 ppb	Yes	2	B-
3	Winnsboro	13.0 ppb	No	7	C+
4	Swansea	13.0 ppb	No	9	B
5	Cheraw	11.0 ppb	No	15	C-
6	Westminster	10.0 ppb	No	8	C-
7	North Charleston	7.9 ppb	No	0	B
8	Blackville	7.5 ppb	No	0	A-
9	Georgetown	7.4 ppb	No	16	B
10	Batesburg	7.4 ppb	No	7	B-
11	Salem	7.0 ppb	No	30	C+
12	Mccoll	6.2 ppb	No	3	B+
13	Ehrhardt	6.1 ppb	No	3	B+
14	Brunson	5.9 ppb	No	0	A-
15	North	5.7 ppb	No	10	B+
16	Johnsonville	5.6 ppb	No	2	A
17	Norway	5.3 ppb	No	1	B+
18	Clemson	5.0 ppb	No	4	B+
19	Central	5.0 ppb	No	1	B+
20	Eastover	5.0 ppb	No	3	B+
21	Ridgeland	4.6 ppb	No	0	B+
22	Jefferson	4.6 ppb	No	1	A
23	Beech Island	4.6 ppb	No	0	B+
24	Helena	4.3 ppb	No	5	B+
25	Lane	4.3 ppb	No	0	A-
26	Lexington	4.0 ppb	No	55	F
27	Pickens	4.0 ppb	No	7	B+
28	Seabrook	4.0 ppb	No	1	A-
29	Jonesville	4.0 ppb	No	3	B
30	Jenkinsville	4.0 ppb	No	13	C+
31	Sumter	3.7 ppb	No	15	D
32	Charleston	3.5 ppb	No	5	B+
33	Springfield	3.5 ppb	No	0	B+
34	Pageland	3.4 ppb	No	7	B+
35	Saluda	3.3 ppb	No	37	D+
36	Allendale	3.3 ppb	No	7	B+
37	Chesterfield	3.2 ppb	No	10	A-
38	Lugoff	3.2 ppb	No	13	B+
39	Lancaster	3.0 ppb	No	33	B+
40	West Columbia	3.0 ppb	No	87	F
41	Seneca	3.0 ppb	No	0	A
42	La France	3.0 ppb	No	0	A-
43	Clinton	3.0 ppb	No	2	A-
44	Williamston	3.0 ppb	No	11	A-
45	St. George	3.0 ppb	No	0	A-
46	Ridgeway	3.0 ppb	No	21	B
47	Heath Springs	3.0 ppb	No	0	A-
48	Bowman	2.6 ppb	No	5	A-
49	Kiawah Island	2.6 ppb	No	0	A-
50	Greeleyville	2.6 ppb	No	1	A-
51	Fripp Island	2.3 ppb	No	2	A
52	Eutawville	2.3 ppb	No	2	A-
53	Camden	2.2 ppb	No	7	B+
54	Bishopville	2.2 ppb	No	0	A-
55	Turbeville	2.2 ppb	No	0	A
56	Six Mile	2.1 ppb	No	1	A+
57	Conway	2.1 ppb	No	14	C+
58	North Augusta	2.1 ppb	No	13	B+
59	Hilton Head Island	2.1 ppb	No	4	B-
60	Dalzell	2.1 ppb	No	7	B-
61	Hampton	2.1 ppb	No	0	A-
62	Monetta	2.1 ppb	No	0	A
63	Laurens	2.0 ppb	No	17	B-
64	Pawleys Island	2.0 ppb	No	13	B-
65	Johns Island (Sta.)	2.0 ppb	No	1	A-
66	Gilbert	2.0 ppb	No	53	B
67	Honea Path	2.0 ppb	No	0	A-
68	Andrews	2.0 ppb	No	1	B
69	Barrineau Crossroads	2.0 ppb	No	0	A+
70	Perry	2.0 ppb	No	27	A-
71	Pineridge	2.0 ppb	No	1	A-
72	Hickory Grove	2.0 ppb	No	0	A-
73	Hartsville	1.8 ppb	No	0	A
74	Yemassee	1.8 ppb	No	0	A
75	New Ellenton	1.7 ppb	No	3	B+
76	Holly Hill	1.7 ppb	No	0	A
77	Elloree	1.6 ppb	No	0	A-
78	Nichols	1.6 ppb	No	0	A
79	Cassatt	1.5 ppb	No	4	A
80	Ridgeville	1.5 ppb	No	5	B+
81	Hemingway	1.5 ppb	No	11	B+
82	Orangeburg	1.4 ppb	No	3	A-
83	Wallace	1.4 ppb	No	5	A-
84	North Myrtle Beach	1.3 ppb	No	4	B+
85	Dillon	1.3 ppb	No	2	A
86	Kingstree	1.3 ppb	No	4	B
87	Lake City	1.3 ppb	No	0	A+
88	Denmark	1.3 ppb	No	4	A-
89	Marion	1.2 ppb	No	4	A
90	Lake View (Corporate Name For	1.2 ppb	No	3	A-
91	Jamestown	1.2 ppb	No	2	A-
92	Mount Pleasant	1.1 ppb	No	1	B+
93	Florence	1.1 ppb	No	3	B+
94	Loris	1.1 ppb	No	0	A-
95	Rock Hill	1.0 ppb	No	45	F
96	Bennettsville	1.0 ppb	No	56	B
97	Neeses (Corporate Name For Nee	1.0 ppb	No	2	A-
98	Folly Beach	0.9 ppb	No	0	A-
99	Walterboro	0.9 ppb	No	0	A+
100	St. Matthews	0.9 ppb	No	0	A-
101	Varnville	0.9 ppb	No	2	A
102	Graniteville	0.8 ppb	No	3	A-
103	Mullins	0.8 ppb	No	4	A+
104	Fairfax	0.8 ppb	No	1	B
105	Clio	0.8 ppb	No	1	A-
106	Latta	0.8 ppb	No	0	A
107	Wagener	0.8 ppb	No	1	A-
108	Olanta	0.8 ppb	No	0	A-
109	Barnwell	0.7 ppb	No	0	A
110	Myrtle Beach	0.7 ppb	No	17	B-
111	Pamplico	0.7 ppb	No	2	A
112	Moncks Corner	0.6 ppb	No	6	B-
113	Jackson	0.6 ppb	No	24	A-
114	Okatie	0.6 ppb	No	7	B+
115	Ridge Spring	0.6 ppb	No	3	A
116	Sullivans Island	0.6 ppb	No	2	A
117	Coward	0.6 ppb	No	0	A+
118	Wedgefield	0.6 ppb	No	19	A-
119	Isle Of Palms	0.5 ppb	No	3	B+
120	Clearwater	0.5 ppb	No	2	A-
121	Summerton	0.4 ppb	No	3	B+
122	Branchville	0.4 ppb	No	0	A
123	Ladson	0.4 ppb	No	2	A
124	Lamar	0.4 ppb	No	3	A
125	Estill	0.3 ppb	No	1	B
126	Bethune	0.3 ppb	No	6	B
127	Maysville	0.3 ppb	No	1	B+
128	Bamberg	0.3 ppb	No	1	A
129	Manning	0.3 ppb	No	5	A-
130	Scranton	0.3 ppb	No	0	B+
131	Williston	0.2 ppb	No	0	A-
132	Langley	0.2 ppb	No	1	B
133	Awendaw	0.2 ppb	No	1	B+
134	Darlington	0.2 ppb	No	6	B+
135	Gloverville	0.2 ppb	No	2	A
136	Shaw Afb	0.2 ppb	No	4	B+
137	Summerville	0.2 ppb	No	22	C+
138	Mcbee	0.1 ppb	No	4	A
139	Lincolnville	0.1 ppb	No	0	B+
140	Greenville	0.0 ppb	No	9	A
141	Columbia	0.0 ppb	No	80	F
142	Spartanburg	0.0 ppb	No	2	A
143	Greer	0.0 ppb	No	3	A
144	Lyman	0.0 ppb	No	2	A+
145	Easley	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
146	York	0.0 ppb	No	65	F
147	Anderson	0.0 ppb	No	15	C+
148	Aiken	0.0 ppb	No	11	D
149	Greenwood	0.0 ppb	No	14	C
150	Gaffney	0.0 ppb	No	12	C+
151	Belton	0.0 ppb	No	13	B
152	Goose Creek	0.0 ppb	No	0	B+
153	Inman	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
154	Fort Jackson	0.0 ppb	No	8	A-
155	Woodruff	0.0 ppb	No	5	A-
156	Fort Mill	0.0 ppb	No	26	B-
157	Union	0.0 ppb	No	14	B+
158	Newberry	0.0 ppb	No	28	C
159	Walhalla	0.0 ppb	No	1	A-
160	Chesnee	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
161	Cayce	0.0 ppb	No	2	A-
162	West Anderson	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
163	Fort Lawn	0.0 ppb	No	7	B+
164	Liberty	0.0 ppb	No	3	A-
165	Gaston	0.0 ppb	No	9	D
166	Starr	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
167	Tega Cay	0.0 ppb	No	0	B+
168	Mccormick	0.0 ppb	No	19	C+
169	Clover	0.0 ppb	No	19	D
170	Abbeville	0.0 ppb	No	5	B
171	Landrum	0.0 ppb	No	3	A-
172	Pendleton	0.0 ppb	No	0	B+
173	Pacolet	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
174	Chapin	0.0 ppb	No	33	D+
175	Donalds	0.0 ppb	No	3	B+
176	Blacksburg	0.0 ppb	No	9	B+
177	Carlisle	0.0 ppb	No	15	B
178	Marietta	0.0 ppb	No	3	A
179	Ware Shoals	0.0 ppb	No	0	B+
180	Hopkins	0.0 ppb	No	15	D
181	Ninety Six (Corporate Name For	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
182	Kershaw	0.0 ppb	No	5	A
183	Calhoun Falls	0.0 ppb	No	4	B-
184	Whitmire	0.0 ppb	No	6	A-
185	Mitford	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
186	Iva	0.0 ppb	No	6	A-
187	Bath	0.0 ppb	No	8	B+
188	Pelion	0.0 ppb	No	1	A-
189	Gaffney	0.0 ppb	No	1	B-
190	Prosperity	0.0 ppb	No	2	A
191	Irmo	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
192	Harleyville	0.0 ppb	No	8	A-
193	Mill Spring	0.0 ppb	No	0	B+
194	Mill Spring	0.0 ppb	No	0	A+
195	Sharon	0.0 ppb	No	1	A-
196	Lockhart	0.0 ppb	No	16	B

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about lead in South Carolina

Is lead in South Carolina tap water a concern?

Yes — 2 of 196 cities with lead data exceed the EPA action level of 15 ppb. The state average is 2.0 ppb. Even below the action level, lead poses health risks especially for children and pregnant women. If your home was built before 1986, consider testing your tap water directly.

How can I reduce lead exposure from South Carolina tap water?

Use an NSF 53-certified water filter, which is specifically certified to reduce lead. Run your cold tap for 30 seconds before drinking or cooking, especially if water has been sitting in pipes for hours. Never use hot tap water for cooking or making baby formula, as heat increases lead leaching from pipes.

Which South Carolina cities have the highest lead levels?

The cities with the highest 90th percentile lead levels in South Carolina are: Edisto Beach (34.0 ppb), Santee (17.0 ppb), Winnsboro (13.0 ppb), Swansea (13.0 ppb), Cheraw (11.0 ppb). See the full ranked table above.

More contaminants