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Federal water data

County water report

Chesterfield County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

28.8

State rank

#41

of 46

Health violations

32

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

66.7%

3 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

17

5,509 recent measurements

Live streamflow

24%

PEE DEE RIVER AT CHERAW, SC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Chesterfield County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 28.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

32

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

67% impaired

3 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

24% of mean

PEE DEE RIVER AT CHERAW, SC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

17

5,509 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

28.8/100

Health violations

32

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

72.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Chesterfield County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Chesterfield County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 28.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 32 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 — 66.7% — of assessed waterways are impaired (2 of 3 water bodies) across Chesterfield County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and ph. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts PEE DEE RIVER at 2.1k cfs — well below its long-term average at 24% of mean — low-flow conditions worth noting for water-dependent ecosystems. Streamflow is a leading indicator of drought stress, sediment load, and dilution capacity: low flows concentrate pollutants and warm water temperatures, stressing aquatic life and, in surface-water-dependent systems, the source water quality for treatment plants.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Chesterfield County has moderate coverage with 17 active monitoring sites with 5,509 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, minor, metals. 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 Chesterfield County

Water Verdict

Chesterfield County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 28.8 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans.

Violation Context

Chesterfield County has recorded 32 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 72.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Chesterfield County has a Grade F compliance record with 32 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Chesterfield County's drinking-water compliance score is 28.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Chesterfield County is 72.3 per 100,000 people served. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the South Carolina Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Chesterfield County's watershed. With 17 active water-quality monitoring sites in Chesterfield County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the PEE DEE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Chesterfield County has poorer water quality than the average county in South Carolina. Its water score is 36.1 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 Chesterfield County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    pH imbalance

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Chesterfield County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Chesterfield County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Chesterfield County

Consumer Confidence Reports (SC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in South Carolina

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

66.7%

2 of 3 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    PH

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

17

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.5K

5,509 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Nutrient

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).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

2,060cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

24%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

PEE DEE RIVER AT CHERAW, SC

USGS site
02130000
Drainage area
7,320 sq mi
Long-term mean
8,598 cfs

One representative streamgage (the one with the largest drainage area in the county). Many counties have multiple gauges; this view summarizes the primary one. The long-term mean is the full-record annual average; the percent-of-typical value compares the latest reading against that average.

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Chesterfield County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Chesterfield County, South Carolina?
Chesterfield County, South Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 28.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 32 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 Chesterfield County?
Chesterfield County has 32 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 Chesterfield County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 66.7% of Chesterfield County's 3 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (2 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), PH. 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 Chesterfield County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,509 measurements from 17 monitoring sites in Chesterfield County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Nutrient. 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.
What's happening with rivers in Chesterfield County right now?
Chesterfield County's primary USGS streamgage on the PEE DEE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 2,060 cubic feet per second — 24% of the long-term mean of 8,597.57 cfs. This is well below typical — often a signal of drought stress on source water. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Chesterfield County water compare to the South Carolina average?
Chesterfield County's SDWIS water quality score of 28.8/100 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 Chesterfield County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Chesterfield County has a water quality grade of F (28.8/100). This indicates below-average compliance with significant violations. Residents may want to consider home water filtration or independent testing. 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 Chesterfield County have so many water violations?
Chesterfield County has 32 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 Chesterfield County rank for water quality in South Carolina?
Chesterfield County ranks #41 out of 46 counties in South Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 28.8/100, 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

Abbeville County

South Carolina

F

26.8

Water score

Williamsburg County

South Carolina

F

25.4

Water score

Saluda County

South Carolina

F

24.2

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.

Live streamflow from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), continuous discharge measurements from the largest-drainage gauge in each county, compared against the full-record long-term annual mean.

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 Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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