Is Utica, SC tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Utica 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 Seneca, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
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 Utica’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Seneca
South Carolina · serves 39,772 people · about 180 in Utica
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Pioneer Rural Water Dist
South Carolina · serves 16,929 people · under 100 in Utica
Nothing in its records is above a 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 Seneca’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB60, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Brita Everyday Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB46, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Water testing near Utica
The 3 labs South Carolina certifies closest to Utica, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
International Product Assurance Laboratories
Anderson, SC · about 8 miles
Certified for lead and copper, metals
Alliance Technical Group LLC - Greenville
Greenville, SC · about 35 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
L&L Environmental Ware Shoals
Ware Shoals, SC · about 43 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Utica
Which ZIP codes are in Utica: 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 Utica
Other towns in Oconee County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Seneca’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water