Lake Pamona, SC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.9 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Who runs the water here
Lake Pamona serves about 30 people through 19 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Liberty County, South Carolina. EPA system ID: GA1790130; phone on file: 912-704-1070. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Lake Pamona is 0.9 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.9 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other South Carolina systems
Of the 553 South Carolina systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.73 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 47 have gone over at some point. Lake Pamona's 0.9 ppb sits at the 53rd percentile in South Carolina and the 49th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Liberty County
2 other systems share Liberty County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Lake Pamona. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| River View Subdivision | 58 | 1.2 ppb |
| Westview Subdivision | 48 | 3.9 ppb |
Next steps for Hardeeville, SC
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Hardeeville, SC may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Lake Pamona whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.