Regulatory Requirements
To ensure water quality and environmental protection, Charleston Water System must comply with federal, state, and local laws. In addition to these requirements, Charleston Water System subscribes to a number of voluntary standards and practices to provide service of a higher quality than required by law. In all, Charleston Water System adheres to more than 65 legal and other requirements, and keeps track of these requirements through the Environmental Management System (EMS).

Wastewater effluent is primarily regulated by the federal Clean Water Act and the South Carolina Pollution Control Act, which prohibit the discharge of any pollutant into a body of water without a permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the South Carolina Safe Drinking Water Act regulate the quality of tap water and control pollution of groundwater sources. Charleston Water System not only meets all regulations set forth by these law and regulations, but in many cases exceeds the set standards.

Charleston Water System engineers are kept informed about proposed changes/new regulations and work to
find the most cost effective and efficient method to
achieve compliance.

Below is a list of the primary regulations governing Charleston Water System operations;
click on each title for a brief description. For the complete list of legal and other requirements, click here.

Clean Water Act

SC Pollution Control Act

Safe Drinking Water Act

SC Safe Drinking Water Act
Environment>Regulatory Requirements
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