Spartanburg Water Quality: What's in Your Tap Water in 2026?

Where does Spartanburg's drinking water come from?

Spartanburg Water draws from three man-made reservoirs, according to its Our Lakes page: Municipal Reservoir #1 (built in 1926), Lake Bowen (1960) and Lake Blalock (1983). Reservoir #1 is described as the utility's primary drinking water reservoir.

Two treatment plants handle that water. According to the utility's Our Water page, the R.B. Simms facility treats Lake Bowen and Reservoir #1 water, and the Myles W. Whitlock, Jr. facility is designed to treat Lake Blalock water. The 2025 report says Whitlock runs "when in operation," so which plant supplies you can change.

The utility's total service area is about 864 square miles, roughly 259 square miles of retail customers and 605 square miles of wholesale. Wholesale means other water systems buy from Spartanburg Water and resell to their own customers. Landrum is a separate retail area in northwestern Spartanburg County, served by its own plant using Hogback Creek and Vaughn's Creek.

Which water provider serves Boiling Springs, Duncan, Moore, Inman, Woodruff and Wellford?

Spartanburg County is served by a patchwork of utilities, so "Spartanburg water" on your bill may not mean Spartanburg Water. Your bill, or the utility's service map, is the reliable way to tell. Here is what the utilities' own pages and reports say:

Boiling Springs and Moore residents should confirm their provider by bill or utility map; this guide does not assign them to a specific district. The sources for the SJWD and Inman-Campobello rows are their 2025 reports (SJWD, Inman-Campobello). SJWD says it served about 168 square miles. Woodruff-Roebuck's own site describes its plant in its About page.

How is Spartanburg-area water treated and disinfected?

Spartanburg Water's 2025 Water Quality Report lists chlorine as its disinfectant. The highest level found in the system was 1.69 ppm (range 0.41 to 1.69 ppm), under the 4 ppm limit. The report does not mention chloramine. SJWD and Inman-Campobello also list chlorine in their 2025 reports.

Spartanburg Water adds fluoride at a target of 0.70 ppm, the level it attributes to the U.S. Public Health Service recommendation. Its 2025 report shows a highest level of 0.65 ppm. SJWD's report says SJWD does not add fluoride. If fluoride matters to you or your dentist, check which utility actually serves your address.

Chlorine byproducts are measured too. In 2025 Spartanburg Water reported total trihalomethanes at a running annual average of 44 ppb (limit 80) and haloacetic acids at 40 ppb (limit 60). Both were in compliance. The haloacetic acid figure sits closer to its limit than the trihalomethane figure, which is worth noticing if you track year-over-year changes in the report.

How do I read my utility's annual Water Quality Report?

Every public water system serving year-round customers must publish a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), as the SCDES Testing Your Drinking Water page notes. Here is a quick way through one:

1. Find your utility's report: Spartanburg Water, SJWD, Inman-Campobello or Woodruff-Roebuck. Reports are posted by calendar year and published the following year.
2. Read the source water paragraph first. It tells you which reservoirs or river feed your plant.
3. Scan the regulated contaminant table. Compare the "highest level" column to the MCL column, and look for any "Yes" under violation.
4. Check the disinfection byproduct rows (trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids) and the disinfectant residual.
5. Find the PFAS section, if there is one. Utilities tested under EPA's fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5) in recent years.
6. Look for hardness. Many reports leave it out, so a missing number is normal. Do not read it as a problem.
7. For lead, find the 90th percentile and the action level (15 ppb), and note that a utility-wide result does not describe your own plumbing.

Spartanburg Water's 2025 report does not include a hardness result. SJWD's does: an average of 16.8 mg/L as calcium carbonate (range 14 to 28 mg/L), which is in the soft range on common water-hardness scales. The Spartanburg Water report in 2022 listed total dissolved solids of 45 ppm, a low figure that points the same way. If hardness matters to you, ask your utility, or use a home test strip or lab test.

Is there PFAS in Spartanburg's tap water?

Spartanburg Water's 2025 report says no PFAS were detected. All 30 UCMR5 samples were below the minimum reporting limit, and testing since 2020 found no level exceeding EPA guidance. In an April 2024 statement the utility said all tests it ran showed less than 1.3 ppt. SJWD and Inman-Campobello report the same UCMR5 outcome: all samples below the reporting limit.

Federal rules are in motion. EPA's PFAS regulation page says that in May 2026 the agency proposed to keep the 4.0 ppt limits for PFOA and PFOS and allow some systems two more years, to 2031, to comply. It also proposed rescinding limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and a mixture index. These are proposals. For background, see our guide to PFAS in drinking water, which covers the general science.

Why do some Spartanburg homeowners still use a filter?

Meeting a standard and liking the taste are different things. Common reasons people in the area add treatment:

• Chlorine taste or smell at the tap.
• A private well, which has no utility monitoring at all.
• Older plumbing inside the house, which can affect water after it leaves the utility's main.
• Personal preference, such as a drinking-water filter for a family with an infant or someone immunocompromised, after talking with a physician.
• Staining or scale from well water. Utility water here is reported soft, so scale on utility water is less likely.

If you are on city water and your concern is chlorine taste, a certified carbon filter is generally enough. Our comparison of a whole-house filter vs. a water softener explains why softening is often unnecessary where water is already soft.

What should private well owners in the Upstate test for?

Private wells are not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, according to EPA's private well page, so the owner is responsible. Start with these:

• Bacteria. The Clemson Home & Garden Information Center says the standard is zero colonies per 100 mL and no E. coli, and recommends boiling, retesting and disinfecting the well if bacteria are found (Clemson HGIC).
• Iron and manganese. These sit in the minerals and metals panel that SCDES offers alongside a coliform kit. Test if you see staining, or odd taste or odor.
• pH and total dissolved solids. Clemson lists a pH range of 6.5 to 8.5 and a TDS secondary limit of 500 mg/L. Low pH can corrode plumbing.
• Radon, uranium and radium. EPA's private-well radionuclide page explains that uranium, radium and radon occur naturally in rock and soil, can dissolve into well water, and may exceed EPA limits. It recommends testing for radionuclides every three years and bacteria annually.

SCDES and county health departments supply the two kits (coliform, and metals and minerals). Per Clemson, SCDES accepts samples on certain weekdays and results can take days to weeks, so ask the office about timing. Clemson also lists state-certified labs for bacteria testing. For treatment, see our well water filtration guide, which covers iron, sulfur and bacteria in general terms.

Are there lead service lines in Spartanburg?

Spartanburg Water says on its lead service line inventory page that it completed its inventory and found no lead service lines. It used a predictive approach plus inspection of nearly 1,600 randomly selected lines, including Landrum. You can look up your address or account number on its online map.

The 2025 report shows a lead 90th percentile of 0 ppb (range ND to 9.0 ppb) with zero sites over the 15 ppb action level. That is a utility-wide sample, not your tap. Lead can still come from solder or fixtures in older homes, and the utility's report advises flushing the tap for 30 seconds to two minutes after water has sat for hours. If you are on a different provider, check its inventory or call it.

Spartanburg-area situations: what should I do?

When should I test my water?

• Before buying or installing any treatment equipment.
• Once a year for private wells, for bacteria, and every few years for radionuclides per EPA.
• After flooding, a well repair, or a change in taste, color or smell.
• After a boil water advisory, if you plan to keep drinking from a long-idle line.
• When you move into an older home with unknown plumbing.

You can also request a free local water report to go with your utility's data. Certified labs, not store test strips, are best for regulated contaminants.

What are the main treatment options for each concern?

For a rough budget, see what a whole-house filter typically costs and whether you need one in this overview.

What should I ask a water treatment installer?

1. Which contaminant is this equipment meant to address, based on which test?
2. Is the product certified to an NSF/ANSI standard for that specific claim, and can I see the listing?
3. What does ongoing maintenance cost: media, filters, salt, and electricity?
4. How much wastewater does it produce, and where does it drain?
5. Will you retest after installation?
6. What are the written warranty and service terms?

Directory listings on this site are informational, not endorsements. Browse water treatment companies in Spartanburg to compare and call a few.