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South Carolina Drinking Water Results for PFA Contamination
Updated: Dec 20, 2022
In August, 2020, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control BOW staff conducted a water study on raw water that is supplied by surface waters for possible PFAS contamination. PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are manufactured pollutants that do not degrade easily in the environment and may cause negative health effects in humans.
Health advisory levels established by the U.S. EPA for drinking water are
PFOA: 0.004 parts per trillion (ppt)
PFOS: 0.02 ppt
GenX chemicals: 10 ppt
PFBS: 2,000 ppt
A summary of the results and a link to the complete study is listed below.
"All samples were collected from finished water by SCDHEC staff at each treatment plant immediately prior to entering the distribution system", per SCDHEC.
PFOA = perfluorooctanoic acid; PFOS = perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
Name | Est. Customers Served | Source/Basin | Sample Date | PFOA USEPA Method 537.1 | PFOS USEPA Method 537.1 | PFOA USEPA Method 533 | PFOS USEPA Method 533 |
Catawba River | 173,056 | Catawba | 6/17/20 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
Camden | 16,024 | Lake Watertree/ Catawba | 6/9/20 | ​3.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
Chester Metro | 14,002 | Catawba | 6/17/20 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
Florence | 70,925 | Great Pee Dee River | 6/9/20 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 7.1 | 4.8 |
Lugoff-Elgin | 20,584 | Lake Watertree/ Catawba | 6/6/20 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 4.3 |
Union | 21,505 | Broad River - Raw Water Reservoir | 6/17/20 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 3.5 |
Winnsboro | 13,373 | Broad River - Mills Creek Reservoir | 6/17/20 | Not Detected | 3.3 | 4.7 | Not Detected |
Other PFAS found besides PFOA and PFOS.
Catawba River: PFHxA (3.5ppt)
Camden: PFHxA (3.2)
Chester Metro: PFHxA (2.7)
Florence: PFBS (2.2) and PFHxA (3.5)
Lugoff-Elgin: PFHxA (3.2)
Union: PFBS (2.3), PFHxA (4.3) and PFHpA (2.4)
Winnsboro: PFHxA (2.3) and PFHxS (3.4)
Rock Hill, SC drinking water utility supply comes from Lake Wylie and supplies roughly 123,399 people. PFOA's as high as 4.02 ng/L ppt and PFOS as high as 4.47 ng/L ppt were found with the EPA's 533 method for raw water in March of 2020.
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References
American Cancer Society Medical and Editorial Content Team
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), and Related Chemicals, Updated 2022.
S.C. DHEC
PFAS Drinking Water Sampling Results, 2021.
U.S. EPA
Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFAS Fact Sheet for Communities, 2022.
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-06/drinking-water-ha-pfas-factsheet-communities.pdf
National Library of Medicine
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research, 2021, 2022.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33017053/