Conway and Georgetown County, SC Water Quality 2025: What Utility and Well Users Need to Know

How we compiled this data

The city utility figures come from the 2024 Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) published by Horry County Water and Sewer District (hcwss.com/news/water-quality) and Georgetown County Water and Sewer District (gtcounty.org). EPA requires all community water systems to mail CCRs to customers by July 1 each year; the 2024 reports cover water tested in calendar year 2023.

Private well data comes from the USGS National Water Information System (USGS NWIS South Carolina), which logs groundwater quality measurements from thousands of SC monitoring wells, and from SC DHEC (now SCDES) annual reports on private well testing results statewide.

City utility water quality: Conway and Georgetown, SC compared

Both HCWSS and Georgetown County Water and Sewer draw surface water from the Pee Dee basin. The Pee Dee River system drains the Carolina Sandhills and delivers naturally low-mineral water to the coastal plain, which is why the hardness levels for both systems fall well below the 120 mg/L threshold that most water quality professionals define as hard.

Both utilities pass all federal standards. The soft water profile of the Pee Dee basin is genuinely an advantage: homeowners on city water in Conway, Andrews, Pawleys Island, and Georgetown town limits do not typically need a water softener to protect appliances or prevent scale buildup on fixtures. The trade-off is chlorine-based disinfection, which means disinfection byproducts (DBPs like TTHMs and HAA5s) are detectable. They are within legal limits, but some homeowners prefer to remove them for taste or as a precaution, which is straightforward with a whole-house activated carbon filter.

Verify the exact figures for your address by downloading your utility's annual CCR: HCWSS posts reports at hcwss.com/news/water-quality and Georgetown County publishes reports through the county public works site at gtcounty.org.

What USGS data shows about private wells in Horry and Georgetown counties

About 30 percent of SC residents rely on private wells for drinking water, and the proportion is higher in rural Horry and Georgetown counties (SC DHEC Drinking Water Program). Private wells draw from two main aquifer systems in this part of the state:

• Surficial aquifer (shallow, 15 to 80 feet): Low mineral content, soft water, but highly vulnerable to surface contamination. USGS NWIS monitoring data for Horry and Georgetown counties consistently shows elevated iron (often above the 0.3 mg/L EPA secondary standard), manganese (frequently above the 0.05 mg/L secondary standard), and low pH in the 5.5 to 6.8 range for wells drawing from this zone.
• Black Creek Aquifer (deeper, 200 to 600 feet): More mineral-rich, harder, and better protected from surface contamination. USGS data from deeper wells in the Horry-Georgetown area shows higher fluoride content (sometimes approaching the 2 mg/L secondary standard) and elevated radium in some formations. This is the same aquifer documented in our Black Creek and Middendorf aquifer guide.

Pawleys Island and Murrells Inlet: city water meets coastal well risk

The Waccamaw Neck (the peninsula between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic that includes Pawleys Island, Litchfield Beach, and Murrells Inlet) is served partly by Georgetown County Water and Sewer District and partly by private wells. Subdivisions built after the county expanded its service area in the 1990s and 2000s are generally on treated city water. Older beachfront cottages, rural parcels, and some lakefront properties still rely on shallow wells.

The coastal proximity compounds the shallow-well problems listed above. USGS data from the Waccamaw Neck and adjacent barrier islands shows chloride concentrations in some surficial wells that are consistent with saltwater mixing, particularly during drought years when freshwater recharge slows and tidal influence penetrates further inland. After storm surge events (Hurricanes Florence and Dorian both affected this area), SC DHEC recommends testing all shallow wells for coliform and chloride before resuming use.

If you own property in Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, or Litchfield Beach and are unsure whether your home is on city water or a private well, check the property disclosure documents or call Georgetown County Public Works. The distinction changes the treatment path significantly.

What Conway city water users should watch

Horry County Water and Sewer District is a large regional utility serving Conway, Myrtle Beach, and Horry County broadly. The utility treats surface water from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Waccamaw River system through multiple water treatment plants. Treated water is soft and meets all federal standards, but two aspects of HCWSS water are worth understanding:

• Disinfection byproducts: HCWSS uses chlorine disinfection. Chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter from the river system to form TTHMs and HAA5s. The utility monitors these closely and stays within EPA limits, but seasonal variation in organic load (higher in summer when algae blooms are more active) means DBP levels fluctuate. Homeowners who want to eliminate this variability can install a whole-house carbon block filter at the point of entry.
• Taste and odor: The Waccamaw River carries organic compounds from the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding wetlands. This gives HCWSS water a mild earthy or musty taste in some seasons, particularly late summer. The taste is harmless but can be annoying. A carbon filter resolves it.

For PFAS specifically, HCWSS has not identified its surface water sources as high-risk, but the utility is beginning to test under the EPA's 2024 PFAS MCL rule, which requires all community water systems to monitor for six PFAS compounds. SC DHEC tracks statewide PFAS testing at scdhec.gov PFAS monitoring. Until results are published for your utility, a reverse osmosis system at the drinking tap is the most effective precaution.

Recommended treatment paths by water source

No two homes have identical water. A professional water test is the only reliable way to size treatment equipment correctly. That said, the data above points toward common configurations for this region:

• City water (HCWSS or Georgetown County W&S): Whole-house activated carbon filter to remove chlorine, reduce DBPs, and improve taste. If PFAS data shows detections, add reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap. Soft water means a softener is optional rather than essential.
• Shallow surficial aquifer well: pH neutralizer first (acidic water corrodes iron equipment), followed by an air-injection iron filter for iron and manganese, then UV disinfection. Test for nitrate and coliform annually. Add reverse osmosis at the drinking tap for nitrate, PFAS, or fluoride concerns.
• Black Creek aquifer well: Test first. If fluoride is elevated, reverse osmosis at the drinking tap is needed. Iron and bacterial risk is lower but not zero, especially if the well casing is old or improperly sealed.
• Coastal or tidal-adjacent well showing chloride: Reverse osmosis can handle moderate salt content at the drinking tap, but if chloride is very high it is a sign of significant saltwater intrusion and well relocation or connection to the county system is worth evaluating.

Frequently asked questions