St. Stephen, SC tap water
Supplied mostly by Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002), plus 1 other utility. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine or chloramine
Utilities here use chlorine or chloramine, depending on which one serves your address. Chlorine slowly gases off from standing water; chloramine doesn't.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From EPA monitoring data (2019).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Supplier's figureUp to 1 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.8 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From the utility that supplies yours: Charleston Water System and Lake Moultrie Regional WS, which supplies Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002); EPA monitoring data (2012–2025).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure54 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
From the utility that supplies yours: Charleston Water System, which supplies Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002) (2025).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure25–29 ppm
Typical 27 ppm
Little buffering. pH can drop quickly between water changes, especially with CO₂ or an older tank.
From the utility that supplies yours: Charleston Water System and Lake Moultrie Regional WS, which supplies Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002) (2012–2025).
pH
Supplier's figure8–8.2
Typical 8.1
Alkaline. Many utilities raise pH to protect pipes. Stability matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: Charleston Water System, which supplies Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002) (2012–2019).
Total dissolved solids
Supplier's figure100 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
From the utility that supplies yours: Charleston Water System, which supplies Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002) (2025).
- Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002) adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies St. Stephen, SC
Bcwsa Sangaree W/D (0820002)
Serves 96% of residents · Buys water from Charleston Water System (SC1010001) · Chloramine
Wcwsa (SC4510007)
Serves 11% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Our data comes from public records and is still incomplete. Many utilities don't publish every number, so we're adding more all the time. Your city's range is a starting point: testing your own tap is the only way to know exactly what's in it.
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Compiled by Shoal & Stem from public records. Free to cite with a link.