Is Surfside Beach, SC tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Surfside 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.
Grand Strand W&Sa/Bull Creek, 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 11.5 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 Surfside Beach’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Grand Strand W&Sa/Bull Creek
South Carolina · serves 252,840 people · about 3,400 in Surfside Beach
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 11.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Ocean Lakes Ltd
South Carolina · serves 10,727 people · under 100 in Surfside Beach
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 5.0 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Lakewood Campground
South Carolina · serves 4,415 people · under 100 in Surfside Beach
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.73 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 Grand Strand W&Sa/Bull Creek’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 Surfside Beach
The 3 labs South Carolina certifies closest to Surfside Beach, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Environmental Systems Testing Services LLC
Conway, SC · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria
Davis & Brown Inc.
Florence, SC · about 61 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
FMU Freshwater Ecology Center
Florence, SC · about 62 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Surfside Beach
Which ZIP codes are in Surfside 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 Surfside Beach
Other towns in Horry County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Grand Strand W&Sa/Bull Creek’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