Berkeley County, South Carolina: drinking water report. Berkeley County sits north of Charleston, home to about 230,000 residents in one of the…
Berkeley County sits north of Charleston, home to about 230,000 residents in one of the fastest-growing counties in South Carolina. Berkeley County Water and Sanitation draws from the Bushy Park Reservoir and the Back River. The county includes parts of the Charleston metro's growth corridor and several large industrial facilities.
Berkeley County's water sources provide adequate supply, though the Back River and Bushy Park Reservoir receive inputs from the Cooper River watershed, which includes industrial activity around the former Charleston Naval Shipyard area. UCMR5 data shows low-level PFAS detections in some county systems.
According to the South Carolina DHEC's 2024 monitoring data, county systems met all federal standards. The county's rapid growth has prompted significant investment in water treatment capacity and distribution infrastructure.
Berkeley County's growth means new neighborhoods are being connected regularly. System expansion creates temporary variability.
Check your water for data specific to your area. A carbon or reverse osmosis filter provides added protection. Our water filter guide covers options. Pull your detailed report, and visit our South Carolina page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Berkeley County, SC.
The EPA places Berkeley County, SC in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
21% of homes in Berkeley County, SC were built before 1980, and 1% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Berkeley County, SC averages 7.8 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide
16 public water systems serving Berkeley County, SC have EPA lead testing on record. The reported lead sample skews toward systems that already flagged a problem, so its exceedance rate is not directly comparable with other areas. 3 water systems serving Berkeley County, SC carry a health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violation.
| Most-cited violation type | Systems affected |
|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | 2 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | 2 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) | 1 |
Source: EPA Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile tap sampling and EPA SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement records, aggregated from the public water systems serving this county. Figures are counts of water systems, not a test of any individual home or tap.