Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Is Folly Beach, SC tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Folly Beach, 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 Folly Beach 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: Charleston Water System.

Charleston Water System, 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 6.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from Charleston Water System is soft, 54 mg/L (3.2 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 Folly Beach’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 Charleston Water System’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Folly Beach

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 Folly Beach, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • GEL Laboratories LLC

    Charleston, SC · about 10 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, PFAS, radioactivity

    (843) 556-8171

  • Trident Labs Services Inc.

    Ladson, SC · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (843) 871-4999

  • Aquatic Analytics LLC

    Summerville, SC · about 30 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (843) 471-1933

All 36 certified labs for South Carolina

ZIP codes in Folly Beach

Which ZIP codes are in Folly Beach: 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 Folly Beach

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

What to do next