What's in Nexton's Water -- A Cited Report for New Residents (2026)

If you moved to Nexton in the last two years, your skin already told you something changed.

Maybe it's the shower. Maybe it's the dishes. Maybe your kid's hair feels like straw after bath time. You're not imagining it, and it's not the shampoo. It's the water, and it has a number attached to it.

This report cites the public data from Summerville Commissioners of Public Works (CPW) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database. Every number links to its source. Nothing here is a sales pitch. It's a reading of the public record for your neighborhood.

Who Supplies Nexton's Water

Nexton is served by Summerville CPW, which sources surface water from Lake Moultrie via the Santee Cooper Regional Water System. CPW has served the area since October 1994 and currently maintains about 20,532 connections serving roughly 81,750 people (EWG Tap Water Database, Summerville CPW).

If you're in Nexton proper, you're on CPW. If your neighbor across the highway is in a Charleston Water System zone, they're on a different utility with different water. That distinction matters.

Hardness: 7.2 Grains Per Gallon

Summerville CPW water measures about 7.2 grains per gallon (gpg), which puts it in the "moderately hard" category (USGS Water Hardness Scale). For comparison, Charleston Water System runs about 3.4 gpg, which is moderately soft.

If you moved from New York City (about 1 gpg), coastal Florida (1-3 gpg), or most of California (variable, but many cities under 5 gpg), you went from soft to moderately hard overnight. That's the whole story behind crusty showerheads, spotty dishes, and the soap residue on your skin.

What Hardness Does in Your Home

Hardness is calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water. At 7.2 gpg, here's what you'll notice inside your first 90 days in Nexton:

• **Showerheads** build white calcium scale. The holes clog. Water pressure seems to drop.
• **Dishwashers** leave a film on glasses and flatware. Rinse aid helps, but it's a band-aid.
• **Soap and shampoo** don't lather as well. You use more. The residue sits on your skin and hair.
• **Water heater elements** accumulate scale. Over years, that reduces efficiency and shortens the heater's life.
• **Laundry** comes out stiffer. Colors fade faster because you're using more detergent.

None of this is a health issue. It's an aesthetic and maintenance issue. But it adds up.

Disinfection: Chlorine (Not Chloramine)

CPW uses chlorine as its primary disinfectant. This is different from Charleston Water System, Mount Pleasant Waterworks, and Dorchester County Water Authority, which use chloramine (chlorine bonded with ammonia).

Why does this matter? Chloramine doesn't fully strip out with the simple carbon filters that handle free chlorine. If you bought a countertop Brita or fridge filter assuming it would handle the taste, and your water still smells like a pool, it's doing its job for chlorine. But if you're ever on a chloramine utility, you'd need a different media with longer contact time.

In Nexton, you're on chlorine. A standard carbon filter will address the pool taste at the kitchen tap.

EWG Flags: 11 Contaminants Above Health Guidelines

The EWG Tap Water Database tested Summerville CPW water from 2014 to 2023 and flagged 11 contaminants above EWG's own health guidelines. These are legal under current EPA standards but exceed the stricter benchmarks EWG uses.

The headline numbers:

| Contaminant | EWG Multiple | Measured Level |
|---|---|---|
| PFUnA (a PFAS compound) | 1,183x guideline | 7.1 ppt |
| HAA9 (disinfection byproduct) | 368x guideline | 22.1 ppb |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) | 168x guideline | 25.2 ppb |
| Bromodichloromethane | 137x guideline | 8.25 ppb |
| HAA5 | 113x guideline | 11.3 ppb |
| PFDoA (a PFAS compound) | 75x guideline | 4.50 ppt |
| Dichloroacetic acid | 37x guideline | 7.41 ppb |
| Trichloroacetic acid | 38x guideline | 3.81 ppb |
| Chloroform | 35x guideline | 14.2 ppb |
| Dibromochloromethane | 28x guideline | 2.76 ppb |
| Chromium (hexavalent) | 2.5x guideline | 0.0505 ppb |

Source: EWG Summerville CPW Profile, testing period 2014-2023.

Important context: "above EWG guideline" does not mean "above EPA legal limit." Every one of these readings is within the current EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). EWG's guidelines are stricter and based on their assessment of newer health research. Reasonable people disagree about which standard to trust. The data is the data.

Lead Service Lines: Zero

Summerville CPW completed its lead service line inventory and found zero lead service lines in the system. If you're in Nexton, your service line from the street to your house is not lead per CPW's published inventory.

This is different from Charleston Water System, which identified about 6,000 lead service lines concentrated in peninsular Charleston and the North Charleston Neck corridor and is running a $120 million replacement program.

The March 2026 Boil-Water Advisory

On March 17-18, 2026, a contractor punctured the Santee Cooper main line at the Lake Moultrie Regional Water Plant. About 70,000 Summerville CPW customers, Goose Creek city residents, and parts of Berkeley County between Moncks Corner and Goose Creek were placed under a boil-water advisory. The advisory was lifted 24 hours after the repair was completed.

If you lived through that week, you know the feeling. If you moved in after, it's worth knowing it happened. The system was repaired. Water quality returned to pre-event levels. But infrastructure events like this are a reminder that your water supply is only as reliable as the pipe between the plant and your tap.

The $96 Million PFAS Project

CPW is investing about $43.5 million as its share of a $96 million regional PFAS treatment project. The project was announced alongside a 12.2% rate hike for CPW customers. The EPA finalized the national PFAS maximum contaminant level at 4 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOA in April 2024, and CPW's Lake Moultrie source has measured 7 ppt PFAS at the raw intake.

This is a utility-level infrastructure project, not something a home system addresses. If specific contaminants in your water concern you, the conversation starts with understanding what's there, which utility is responsible, and what kind of point-of-use system (if any) is cert-matched for that specific compound.

What This Means for Your Nexton Home

Nexton water is legal. It's treated. It's delivered through a system with no lead service lines. It's also 7.2 gpg hard, chlorine-disinfected, and carrying 11 EWG-flagged compounds that are legal but above stricter health benchmarks.

Whether any of that matters to you depends on your household. Some people are fine with it. Some people notice the shower and the dishes and the soap and want a different number. Both are reasonable positions.

FAQ: Nexton Water

Does Nexton have lead pipes?
No. Summerville CPW completed its inventory and found zero lead service lines. Your pipe from the street to your home is not lead per the published data.

How hard is Nexton water compared to Mount Pleasant?
Nexton (CPW) is about 7.2 gpg, moderately hard. Mount Pleasant (MPWW) is served by a different utility and has different chemistry. Charleston Water System, which covers parts of the metro, runs about 3.4 gpg.

Is 7.2 gpg dangerous?
No. Hardness is not a health issue. It's an aesthetic and maintenance issue. The minerals are calcium and magnesium. Your body is fine with them. Your showerhead and water heater are less fine with them over time.

If You Want to See What's in YOUR Water

Book a free in-home water test. 45 minutes. I'll bring the kit, pull a sample from your Nexton tap, and walk you through what I see on the spot. You'll leave with a cited number and a choice. If your water's fine, I'll say so.

Call or text Jarred at (843) 302-5720, or book online at pristinewaternetworks.com/book.