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Is Columbia, SC tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Columbia, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and South Carolina’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 2 utilities serving Columbia has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and South Carolina’s records: City of Columbia.

City of Columbia, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 8.6 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from City of Columbia is soft, an average of 36 mg/L (2.1 grains per gallon). How it compares.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Columbia’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Columbia’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Columbia

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab South Carolina certifies.

The 3 labs South Carolina certifies closest to Columbia, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Alliance Technical Group LLC - Columbia

    Columbia, SC · about 5 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (864) 232-1556

  • Pace Analytical Services LLC

    West Columbia, SC · about 7 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (704) 977-0963

  • Data Resources Incorporated

    Columbia, SC · about 7 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (803) 561-0331

All 36 certified labs for South Carolina

ZIP codes in Columbia

Which ZIP codes are in Columbia: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: SCDES, Commercial Environmental Laboratory Mapping (CELMapp), labs certified under the Safe Drinking Water Act; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Columbia

Other towns in Richland County with a page of their own.

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