Is Florence, SC tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 2 utilities serving Florence 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 Florence.
City of Florence, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 6.7 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
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 Florence’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Florence
South Carolina · serves 79,745 people · about 13,500 in Florence
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 6.7 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Darlington County W&SA
South Carolina · serves 52,288 people · about 970 in Florence
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.3 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Florence’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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ZeroWater 10 Cup Pitcher (ZP-010)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Aquasana Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Express Water StreamLine Direct Connect System (USC001)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Water testing near Florence
The 3 labs South Carolina certifies closest to Florence, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Davis & Brown Inc.
Florence, SC · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
FMU Freshwater Ecology Center
Florence, SC · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria
Black Creek Lab
Ruby, SC · about 45 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Florence: 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 Florence
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Florence’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water