Free testing, with limits
South Carolina tests wells for free for people over 65 or on public assistance. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for lead.
South Carolina's private well pageLead in South Carolina well water, by county
Lead is worth checking in 1 of the 6 South Carolina counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.
These tests sample the groundwater, and lead rarely comes from the ground. In a home it mostly comes from plumbing: old solder, brass fittings and some older pumps. So a county's share can't tell you about your pipes. Test a first-draw sample, water that sat in the pipes overnight, from the tap you drink from.
How South Carolina compares with the rest of the country
Across South Carolina, under 1 in 50 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (4 of 209). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. So lead turns up somewhat more often in South Carolina than in the country as a whole. Check your county below.
Why it matters: It harms children's growing brains. The CDC says no amount in a child's blood is known to be safe.
Lead in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.
| County | Wells tested | Wells over the limit | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orangeburg County | 18 | Worth checking | |
| Richland County | 34 | Rare | |
| Colleton County | 16 | Rare | |
| Beaufort County | 15 | Rare | |
| Berkeley County | 11 | Rare | |
| Charleston County | 10 | Rare |
33 more South Carolina counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for lead, too few to rate.
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0
Where to get your well tested for lead in South Carolina
A lab South Carolina certifies
Ask for lead by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by South CarolinaA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include lead.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in South Carolina
- Well water testing in South Carolina: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Lead in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in South Carolina wells, by county
- Arsenic in South Carolina wells, by county
- Uranium in South Carolina wells, by county
- Manganese in South Carolina wells, by county
Questions people ask about lead in South Carolina
Is there lead in South Carolina well water?
Lead is worth checking in 1 of the 6 South Carolina counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. Across South Carolina, under 1 in 50 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (4 of 209). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. So lead turns up somewhat more often in South Carolina than in the country as a whole. Check your county below.
Where can I get my well tested for lead in South Carolina?
South Carolina tests wells for free for people over 65 or on public assistance. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by South Carolina for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes lead from a certified lab.
See South Carolina's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.
Where these numbers come from
- Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
- Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
- State programs and links: Department of Environmental Services (SCDES).