Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water for Sumter
The City of Sumter is proud to report that your drinking water is safe and meets or exceeds all Federal and State standards for water quality.
As water travels through the environment, it can naturally collect small amounts of minerals or substances such as microbes, organic or inorganic materials, and even trace radioactive elements. The presence of these does not necessarily pose a health risk. For more information, contact the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Our Water Quality team routinely monitors for microbiological, radioactive, inorganic, synthetic organic, and volatile organic constituents as required by SC DHEC and the EPA.
Lead Awareness:
Lead in drinking water typically comes from household plumbing, not from City water lines. The City of Sumter has no lead service lines. To minimize lead exposure, run your tap for a few minutes before drinking or use a certified filter. For testing or more information, contact City Public Services at 803-436-2558 or visit epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Some individuals—such as infants, the elderly, or those with compromised immune systems—may be more sensitive to contaminants. If you have concerns, consult your healthcare provider or call the EPA hotline for additional guidance.
The City of Sumter remains committed to transparency, quality, and protecting this vital resource. Annual inspections and oversight by SC DHEC ensure continued compliance and excellence in water safety.
For the current water report, click here.
Our Water System
The City of Sumter proudly operates the largest groundwater system in South Carolina. Water is drawn from the Black Creek and Middendorf Aquifers through 24 deep wells and processed at six major water treatment plants before entering the city’s distribution system. From there, it’s stored in eight elevated tanks—five holding 500,000 gallons and one holding 1 million gallons—ready for community use.
Well flows range from 700 to 2,000 gallons per minute, supported by four elevated tanks totaling 4 million gallons and underground clearwells with 6.5 million gallons of storage. Our certified operators are on duty 24/7, performing water quality control tests every 2–4 hours. The City also operates a State Certified Laboratory, ensuring every drop meets the highest state and federal water quality standards throughout the year—providing our residents with safe, reliable water they can trust.
In addition to the city system, we also manage four smaller systems in the county, including the Mayesville, Wessex, Dalzell and Oswego water systems. Together, we pump, treat, and distribute nearly 5 billion gallons of clean, safe drinking water each year—an average of 12 million gallons daily.