Education and Community Outreach

Drinking Water for Community Events

Charleston Water System provides drinking water for outdoor community events held in our service area. We do this as a public service to support the community and share information about tap water.

We offer two options: the Water Wagon and the Water Buffalo. Both are designed to dispense clean, refreshing tap water into cups or reusable bottles. It's an environmentally friendly way to serve water at your event! Book the Water Wagon or Water Buffalo

Schedule a Speaker

Where does your water come from? How is it treated? What happens to it after it goes down the drain?

Schedule a speaker to visit your school or community group and get the answers to all your questions about drinking water! We can tailor our talk to your group's interests. You might be surprised at how interesting water can be!

To schedule a speaker, send us an e-mail or call (843) 727-6856.

Information for Teachers & Students

Charleston Water System is happy to provide information to teachers and assistance to students working on science projects, research papers, etc. Check out a list of online resources, or if you're looking for specific information or would like to schedule a speaker, you can e-mail us.

Facility Tours

For security and safety reasons, Charleston Water System does not offers tours of treatment facilities. However, we do have an overview of our water treatment process and our wastewater treatment process, and we can arrange for someone to speak to your class or group. To request a speaker, call (843) 727-6856 or e-mail us.

Good Neighbor Program

Charleston Water System's Good Neighbor Program helps families with financial hardship pay their water bill. Donations are accepted through our Operation Round Up initiative, which allows customers to round up their water bill to the nearest dollar and give the difference to a charitable organization.

All donations for the Good Neighbor Program are given to the Charleston County Human Services Commission, which administers the Good Neighbor Program. Five percent of the funds collected are used to offset administration costs; the remaining 95% of donated funds are used to help customers in need.

For information on receiving assistance from the Good Neighbor Fund, please contact the Charleston County Human Services Commission at (843) 723-9285.

Fee Waivers/Affordable Housing

Charleston Water System has partnered with the Lowcountry Housing Trust to offer reduced impact fees for affordable housing developments. For more information, please contact the Lowcountry Housing Trust at (843) 973-7285.

Charleston Water System does not waive tap or impact fees for any reason. This is prohibited by our bond ordinance because fee-based revenue helps Charleston Water System repay debt.

Bill Stuffers for Non-Profit Organizations

Charleston Water System offers non-profit organizations the opportunity to reach thousands of people by enclosing bill stuffers in our water bills.

Because Charleston Water System's 110,000 accounts are billed on a monthly cycle, the bill inserts are scheduled by month. Slots are booked on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no cost for this service, but requesting organizations are responsible for designing, printing, and delivering the inserts.

For more information about scheduling an insert, e-mail us or call (843) 727-6856.

Approval Process and Size Requirements

Once your organization schedules a month to run inserts, the proposed bill stuffer must be approved by our Board of Commissioners, which meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month. To be placed on the agenda for review, we will need the following:

A sample of the insert.
A brief description of the organization.
Proof of 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.

All materials are inserted into our bills mechanically; therefore, bill inserts must adhere to specific weight and size requirements. Inserts that do not follow the requirements below will not be included in our bills. All bill inserts must:

Measure 3 ¾" x 7 ½" (two-sided only, no folded inserts)
Weigh no more than 0.1 ounces and be printed on matte paper
Shrink-wrapped for delivery to Charleston Water System.
Shipped or stored in boxes weighing no more than 30lbs each.