Nitrate is widespread in Orangeburg County wells.
1 widespread, 1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 36 wells tested in Orangeburg County since 2001; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
1 in 2 people 36,134 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Deep wells: fewer surface germs, more minerals from the rock.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Less likely, but the EPA still says test your air.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Orangeburg County compares with South Carolina and the counties around it.
Each result puts Orangeburg County next to the 9 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Orangeburg County wells.
Nitrate7 of 36 wells over
Too few tested to show: Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
This one is worth checking in Orangeburg County.
Lead1 of 18 wells over
Too few tested to show: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
These 4 are rare in Orangeburg County.
Fluoride0 of 35 wells over
Too few tested to show: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
Arsenic0 of 18 wells over
Too few tested to show: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
Manganese0 of 33 wells over
Too few tested to show: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
Uranium0 of 18 wells over
Too few tested to show: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
None of the 3 Orangeburg County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 3 wells had it
E. coli0 of 3 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Orangeburg County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 3 of 34 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains3 of 34 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Dorchester, Lexington.
Most of the 36 wells tested in Orangeburg County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 36 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Orangeburg County wells in these records were tested for research or because someone suspected a problem, which can push the shares above what a typical home well would show (how we read the numbers).
One mail-in lab test covers the 4 things to check in Orangeburg County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Lead
- Arsenic
What South Carolina offers well owners
- Free testingSCDES gives people over 65 or on public assistance one free coliform bacteria test and one free metals and minerals analysis per year, and fees may be waived or reduced based on ability to pay. See the program
- Certified labsSouth Carolina's list of certified labs
- Well recordsSouth Carolina's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 168 feet.
That comes from 102 household wells in South Carolina's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 164 to 374 feet deep. Wells as deep as Orangeburg County's are usually better protected from fertilizer and bacteria at the surface, but they can pick up more of what's in the rock, like arsenic and uranium. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 18 of the 32 other South Carolina counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in South Carolina's well record search, or see how to find it.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Orangeburg County.
Orangeburg County is in the EPA's lowest radon zone, so radon from well water is unlikely to be a problem. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 2 town water systems in Orangeburg County test for PFAS. 1 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 4.2 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Orangeburg County has public PFAS results, so the town systems are the best clue to what's in the groundwater nearby. PFAS guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones. PFAS: EPA tests of town water systems, 2023 to 2025
Questions people ask about well water in Orangeburg County
Is well water in Orangeburg County safe to drink?
7 of 36 wells tested in Orangeburg County had nitrate over the limit, about 2 in 10. Across South Carolina it's about 1 in 22. That's the highest share among the 7 South Carolina counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for nitrate before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Orangeburg County?
SCDES gives people over 65 or on public assistance one free coliform bacteria test and one free metals and minerals analysis per year, and fees may be waived or reduced based on ability to pay. If not, use a lab South Carolina has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, lead and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Orangeburg County.
How deep are wells in Orangeburg County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 168 feet. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 18 of the 32 other South Carolina counties with enough drilling records.
How does Orangeburg County compare with the counties around it?
For nitrate, the share of tested wells over the limit: Orangeburg County, at 19%, had a higher share than all 3 neighboring counties with data. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Colleton's 6% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Orangeburg County?
None of the 3 wells tested for bacteria in Orangeburg County had it, but the CDC still says to test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.
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Where the Orangeburg County numbers come from
- People on wells: 36,134 in Orangeburg County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 318 well water samples from 36 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2001 to 2018.
- Well depths: 102 South Carolina drilling records for Orangeburg County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 9 counties that share a border with Orangeburg County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 2 town water systems in Orangeburg County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Orangeburg County is zone 3 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Environmental Services (SCDES), checked November 1, 2026.