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Federal water data

County water report

Richland County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

64.8

State rank

#25

of 46

Health violations

13

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

4 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

41

12,861 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

CONGAREE RIVER AT CONGAREE NP NEAR GADSDEN, SC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Richland County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 64.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

13

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

4 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

CONGAREE RIVER AT CONGAREE NP NEAR GADSDEN, SC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

41

12,861 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

64.8/100

Health violations

13

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

3.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Richland County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Richland County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 64.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 13 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). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 4 water bodies) across Richland County's watersheds. 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. Richland County has moderate coverage with 41 active monitoring sites with 12,861 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 Richland County

Water Verdict

Richland County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 64.8 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

Richland County has recorded 13 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 3.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Richland County meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Richland County's drinking-water compliance score is 64.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Richland County is 3.6 per 100,000 people served. Running tap water for 30 seconds before drinking can reduce any localized lead exposure from household plumbing. Requesting your utility's most recent Consumer Confidence Report is the fastest way to identify which specific contaminants were flagged. With 41 active water-quality monitoring sites in Richland County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the CONGAREE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Richland County has water quality close to the average county in South Carolina. Its water score is within 0.1 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of South Carolina as a whole.

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 Richland County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Richland County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Richland County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Richland County

Consumer Confidence Reports (SC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in South Carolina

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 4 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

No specific impairment causes reported for the assessed water bodies in this county.

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

41

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

13K

12,861 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).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

2,640cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

Long-term average not yet available.

Primary Streamgage

CONGAREE RIVER AT CONGAREE NP NEAR GADSDEN, SC

USGS site
02169625
Drainage area
8,290 sq mi

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 Richland County:C — Moderate

Some violations or watershed impairment detected.

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 Richland County, South Carolina?
Richland County, South Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 64.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 13 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 Richland County?
Richland County has 13 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 Richland County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Richland County's 4 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (0 impaired). 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 Richland County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 12,861 measurements from 41 monitoring sites in Richland 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.
What's happening with rivers in Richland County right now?
Richland County's primary USGS streamgage on the CONGAREE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 2,640 cubic feet per second. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Richland County water compare to the South Carolina average?
Richland County's SDWIS water quality score of 64.8/100 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 Richland County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Richland County has a water quality grade of B (64.8/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Richland County have so many water violations?
Richland County has 13 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 Richland County rank for water quality in South Carolina?
Richland County ranks #25 out of 46 counties in South Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 64.8/100, it falls in the middle 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

Sumter County

South Carolina

B

64.8

Water score

Newberry County

South Carolina

B

63.8

Water score

Charleston County

South Carolina

B

63.2

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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