Advisory status
Current status, what to do during an advisory, and the full March 2026 Santee Cooper main-break timeline. Page updated manually when status changes.
Status as of April 17, 2026
The most recent advisory was lifted at approximately 6:28 AM on March 20, 2026 following the Santee Cooper main-line repair. Check your utility's alerts page for real-time status.
What do I do during a Summerville boil-water advisory?
Bring water to a rolling boil for one full minute before drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, or making ice. Use boiled or bottled water for infant formula and pet bowls. Unfiltered tap is still fine for showering (adults), hand-washing with soap, and laundry. Throw away ice made during the advisory once lifted. Follow your utility's specific guidance during active events.
Source: CDC and EPA boil-water guidance; Summerville CPW March 2026 alerts
If an advisory is active
Step 01
A rolling boil for 60 seconds is the CDC standard for municipal boil-water advisories. Let the water cool before using. No additional filtration or chemical treatment required for microbiological advisories.
Step 02
Drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, rinsing produce, preparing infant formula, medication mixing, and filling pet bowls. Everything that goes in a mouth (human or animal) uses boiled or bottled water.
Step 03
Showering (adults), hand-washing with soap, laundry, and dishwashing on the dishwasher's hottest cycle are generally acceptable. Avoid letting water enter mouth during showers. Small children should sponge-bathe rather than soak.
Step 04
Once the advisory is lifted, throw away any ice made during the advisory window, flush refrigerator water lines, run the ice-maker for several cycles and discard that ice too, and run a full cycle through coffee makers and water-dispensing appliances.
March 2026 history
The most recent major advisory in the Summerville service area. Timeline sourced from Post and Courier, Santee Cooper, ABC News 4, and Dorchester County official communications.
March 16, 2026 -- evening
An independent contractor operating heavy equipment in a Santee Cooper utility easement without permission punctures a 48-inch underground water main at the Lake Moultrie Regional Water Plant near Moncks Corner.
March 17, 2026
Boil-water advisory formally issued for Summerville CPW, City of Goose Creek, Dorchester County Water Authority, and parts of Berkeley County. Per Post and Courier reporting, approximately 200,000 residents affected. Schools close across Cross Elementary, Cross High, Whitesville Elementary, Nexton Elementary, and Cane Bay area schools.
March 18, 2026 -- approximately 4:15 AM
Repair to the 48-inch main completed. 24-hour mandatory testing window begins. Santee Cooper Deputy CEO Mike Finissi characterizes the event as a "significant break and significant repair."
March 20, 2026 -- 6:28 AM
Advisory officially lifted after the second round of water samples passes all safety tests. Total duration approximately four days.
Summerville CPW and several neighboring utilities currently depend on a single transmission main from Lake Moultrie for most of their supply. A single break in that main affects every downstream customer at once -- which is exactly what happened in March 2026. CPW's 10-year $168M capital program includes a $75M second transmission main specifically to create redundancy. The second main is in design as of April 2026 with multi-year phased construction ahead.
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No. As of the last update on this page, there is no active boil-water advisory in Summerville, Goose Creek, or Berkeley County. The most recent advisory was lifted on March 20, 2026. This page is manually updated when status changes; check your utility's own alerts page or local news for real-time status during any suspected event.
Bring water to a rolling boil for at least one full minute (three minutes if you are above 6,500 feet elevation -- not applicable in the Lowcountry), then let it cool before drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, or making ice. Use boiled or bottled water for infant formula, pet bowls, and medication. Unfiltered tap water is still fine for showering (adults), hand-washing with soap, and laundry -- just keep it out of your mouth. Throw away ice made during the advisory window once it is lifted.
Typically 24 to 72 hours from repair completion, because two consecutive clean water samples 24 hours apart are required before the advisory can be lifted. The March 2026 Summerville event lasted four days total -- pipe punctured evening of March 16, repair completed early March 18, advisory lifted 6:28 AM March 20 after the mandatory 24-hour post-repair testing window.
On the evening of March 16, 2026 an independent contractor -- not affiliated with Santee Cooper -- operating heavy equipment in a Santee Cooper utility easement without permission punctured a 48-inch underground water main at the Lake Moultrie Regional Water Plant near Moncks Corner. The advisory was formally issued March 17. Per Post and Courier reporting, approximately 200,000 residents across Summerville CPW, City of Goose Creek, Dorchester County Water Authority customers, and parts of Berkeley County were affected. Schools closed included Cross Elementary, Cross High, Whitesville Elementary, Nexton Elementary, and Cane Bay area schools.
A certified reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink produces water filtered to a level that would typically address microbiological concerns, but during an active boil-water advisory public health agencies recommend boiling water from any source as the definitive precaution. Use the RO water for cooking and drinking after boiling it, or use bottled water. A whole-home conditioner is not a microbiological disinfection device and does not substitute for boiling during an advisory. Always follow the utility's specific guidance during an active event.
Summerville CPW and several neighboring utilities currently rely on a single transmission main from Lake Moultrie via Santee Cooper for the majority of their supply. A single-point-of-failure in that main -- like the March 2026 contractor puncture -- affects the entire downstream service area at once. CPW's 10-year $168M capital program includes a $75M second transmission main specifically to address this single-main risk; the second main is not yet complete as of April 2026.
CPW has committed $75M within its $168M 10-year capital program to build a second transmission main from Lake Moultrie, which would create redundancy so that any single break no longer takes the entire system offline. The project is in design/engineering as of April 2026 with construction expected over multi-year phases. Santee Cooper, the wholesale supplier, has also reviewed easement protection protocols following the March 2026 contractor incident.
Subscribe to Summerville CPW alerts at summervillecpw.com, sign up for Dorchester County emergency alerts at dorchestercountysc.gov, and for Berkeley County alerts at berkeleycountysc.gov. The National Weather Service Charleston office and local news outlets (Post and Courier, ABC News 4, Live 5 News) also distribute utility-issued advisories. If your household relies on refill or medical-grade water, consider stocking two to three gallons per person as a standing emergency supply.
No. The March 16-20, 2026 advisory affected Summerville CPW, City of Goose Creek, Dorchester County Water Authority, and parts of Berkeley County -- all utilities downstream of the Lake Moultrie Regional Water Plant. Charleston Water System customers, who receive water from a separate source, were not affected.
A free in-home water test gives you a baseline reading on your kitchen sink before the next event. You keep the printed results either way.
