County water report

Aiken County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Aiken County, South Carolina.

Water grade

Water score

59.2

State rank

#33

of 46

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

100.0%

1 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

5,593 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

HORSE CREEK AT CLEARWATER, SC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Aiken County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 59.2 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

100% impaired

1 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

HORSE CREEK AT CLEARWATER, SC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

5,593 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

59.2/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

7.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Aiken County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #1301 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

35.5

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+9.2

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Aiken County.

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayModerate Impact

Your facility would use 7.4% of this county's industrial water baseline — manageable but worth monitoring against drought trends.

7.4% of county industrial baseline10.04 Mgal/day remaining headroom

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding Aiken County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Aiken County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 59.2 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 10 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

Watershed Conditions

EPA ATTAINS

Under the Clean Water Act §303(d), EPA ATTAINS tracks whether waterways meet quality standards for drinking, recreation, and aquatic life (reporting cycle: 2022). A large majority — 100.0% — of assessed waterways are impaired (1 of 1 water bodies) across Aiken County's watersheds. The leading impairment cause is escherichia coli (e. coli). Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Aiken County has moderate coverage with 14 active monitoring sites with 5,593 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and nutrient. More monitoring sites generally indicate greater scientific attention to local water conditions — and provide the baseline data that regulators use to set future impairment listings.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Aiken County

Water Verdict

Aiken County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 59.2 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Aiken County has recorded 10 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 7.0 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Aiken County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Aiken County's drinking-water compliance score is 59.2 out of 100. The violation rate for Aiken County is 7.0 per 100,000 people served. Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children may benefit from using an NSF 53-certified filter. Contacting your local utility for the current Consumer Confidence Report will confirm which specific violations were recorded and whether they have been resolved. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Aiken County's watershed. With 14 active water-quality monitoring sites in Aiken County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the HORSE CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Aiken County has poorer water quality than the average county in South Carolina. Its water score is 5.7 points lower than the state average, suggesting more challenges with contamination control or infrastructure than neighboring counties.

Advisory text summarizes county-level public records and is not a replacement for your utility's current Consumer Confidence Report or direct local notices.

Contaminants & Resources

Key issues flagged in Aiken County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

1
E. coli (bacteria)
Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Aiken County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Aiken County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Aiken County

Consumer Confidence Reports (SC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in South Carolina

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

100.0%

1 of 1 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

1
ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Impairment is determined under the Clean Water Act §303(d): a water body is impaired when it fails to meet state-defined quality standards for designated uses (drinking, recreation, aquatic life). Assessment coverage varies by state; counties without assessed water bodies are not shown.

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.6K

5,593 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Nutrient
Inorganics, Minor, Metals

Categories measured most frequently

Data from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), aggregating monitoring records from federal, state, and tribal sources. Each measurement represents a single sample analyzed for a specific characteristic (e.g., E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen).

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

Household size

3 people · ~225 gal/day

Filter type

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Aiken County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

Estimates use the national average residential water rate ($0.0068/gal, EPA/AWWA 2023) and EPA WaterSense per-person consumption baseline (75 gal/person/day). Actual bills vary by utility, usage tier, and local infrastructure fees. For informational purposes only.

Try the full calculator →

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Aiken County, South Carolina?

Aiken County, South Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 59.2/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 10 health-based drinking water violations over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.

Are there any water violations in Aiken County?

Aiken County has 10 health-based drinking water violations recorded by the EPA over the past 5 years. Health-based violations indicate instances where contaminant levels exceeded EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Violations may have been resolved — check with your local water utility for current status.

How healthy are the watersheds in Aiken County?

EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 100.0% of Aiken County's 1 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (1 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI). Impairment means the water body fails to meet state quality standards for at least one designated use — drinking water source, recreation, aquatic life, or fish consumption. Note: watershed impairment doesn't always translate to tap-water issues; treatment plants can remove most regulated contaminants.

How much water-quality monitoring happens in Aiken County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,593 measurements from 14 monitoring sites in Aiken County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Minor, Metals. Each measurement is a single sample analyzed for one characteristic (E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.). High monitoring density means more scientific evidence behind any reported signal — it does not by itself indicate water quality.

How does Aiken County water compare to the South Carolina average?

Aiken County's SDWIS water quality score of 59.2/100 is lower than the South Carolina state average of 64.9. The average water quality grade across South Carolina is C, based on data from 46 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Aiken County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Aiken County has a water quality grade of C (59.2/100). This indicates moderate compliance. Some violations have been recorded but overall standards are maintained. The grade speaks to the public water system, not the watershed — for watershed-level concerns, see the Watershed Health zone. For the most up-to-date information, contact your local water utility or review your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

Why does Aiken County have so many water violations?

Aiken County has 10 health-based drinking water violations on record from the EPA SDWIS database. A higher violation count can result from aging infrastructure, underfunded water utilities, agricultural runoff contamination, or industrial pollution. Counties with more water systems may also see more violations simply due to scale. Residents concerned about water quality should consider independent water testing and home filtration systems.

How does Aiken County rank for water quality in South Carolina?

Aiken County ranks #33 out of 46 counties in South Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 59.2/100, it falls in the bottom third of counties statewide. The ranking reflects EPA SDWIS compliance only — not watershed impairment, monitoring density, or streamflow, which are tracked separately on this page.

Counties with Similar Water Quality

Beaufort County

South Carolina

59.3

Water score

York County

South Carolina

61.3

Water score

Dorchester County

South Carolina

62.3

Water score

Data Sources

Drinking-water compliance data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) via the ECHO enforcement database. Scores reflect compliance history and health-based violation counts.

Watershed health and impaired-waterway data from the EPA ATTAINS Clean Water Act §303(d) assessments, state-reported and EPA-finalized.

Water-quality monitoring counts from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), federated USGS, EPA, and state agency sampling records over a rolling 5-year window.

Disclaimer: This data is informational only. It is not health, legal, or professional advice. For concerns about your specific water supply, contact your local water utility.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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