Pristine Water Networks
The Summerville Water Quality Report
A plain-English read on what is in your tap water and what it means for your home.
01 - Who this is for
If you live in Summerville, this is your water.
I am Jarred Guidelli. I founded Pristine Water Networks because I got tired of watching neighbors in Nexton, Cane Bay, and Carnes Crossroads buy bottled water by the case while paying CPW for the same supply at the tap. Most of them did not know what was actually in it. This report is the answer in one sitting.
You will not see "shocking truth" headlines or scare math here. You will see the numbers CPW publishes, the EWG comparisons that put those numbers in context, and a short note from me on what that means in practice. If your water tests fine, that is the read. If it does not, the next step is a free 45-minute test in your home, on your counter, with no obligation. Either way, you leave with the numbers.
02 - Your utility
Where your water comes from
Most Summerville addresses (29483, 29485, 29486) are served by Summerville CPW (Commissioners of Public Works). CPW pulls raw water from Lake Moultrie via Santee Cooper, treats it at the Old Carolina Road plant, and delivers it through a network that ranges from very new (Nexton, Carnes Crossroads, Cane Bay) to very old (downtown Summerville, parts of Old Pinehaven).
Some addresses on the Berkeley County side are on Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, and a few rural pockets are on private wells. If you do not know which utility you are on, the answer is on the last bill you paid - and the answer changes the rest of this report. The Summerville CPW reading is what follows.
03 - The six things we test
A 6-panel snapshot, in 20 minutes
A free in-home water test from Pristine takes 45 minutes total. The water test itself is a 20-minute panel. We run it on your kitchen counter so you see the result with us. Here is what each marker tells you, and what CPW publishes for the area you most likely live in.
| Marker | What it tells you | CPW range |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | Calcium and magnesium. Drives spotting, scale, and dry skin. | 5.5 - 7.2 gpg (moderately hard) |
| Chlorine / chloramine | Disinfectant residual. Drives chlorine taste and smell. | Chloramine, 2 - 3 ppm typical |
| Total dissolved solids | Sum of all dissolved minerals. Baseline for comparison. | 140 - 220 ppm typical |
| pH | Acidity vs alkalinity. Outside 6.5 - 8.5 is a flag. | 7.4 - 7.8 typical |
| Iron | Rust staining on fixtures. Common on private wells. | Trace on CPW; variable on wells |
| Manganese | Black staining on fixtures. Common on private wells. | Trace on CPW; variable on wells |
A reading inside the published range is not necessarily a problem. A reading outside the range is the trigger for a conversation about what to do next. The point of the test is to tell you which one you have.
04 - PFAS
The five compounds CPW is working to remove
PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, sometimes called "forever chemicals" because they do not break down on the timescale of a human life. Five PFAS compounds have been detected in the Summerville CPW supply by the Environmental Working Group's peer-reviewed dataset. The flagged one is PFUnA, measured at 1,183 times the EWG health advisory level.
Worth saying clearly. EWG health advisory levels are stricter than federal MCLs. Your CPW water meets federal standards. That is what "legal to drink" means. The EWG comparison is what "stricter health-based guidance" means.
CPW has begun a $96 million remediation project to remove PFAS at the Old Carolina Road plant. Completion is targeted for the 2029 to 2031 window. Until then, CPW itself recommends point-of-use filtration at the home for households who want to act ahead of the project.
What an in-home filter actually does for PFAS
The Pur-Alkaline reverse-osmosis system we install at the kitchen sink is NSF/ANSI 58 certified and reduces PFAS at the point of use. The whole-home Hydronex iGen C does not target PFAS - it targets hardness and chloramine. The honest split: the whole-home is for the dishwasher, the shower, and the laundry. The under-sink RO is for the glass you drink from and the pasta water.
05 - What we install
The system, plainly
Pristine installs Puronics Hydronex iGen C as the whole-home conditioner and Puronics Pur-Alkaline RO as the point-of-use drinking system. Both carry WQA Gold Seal certification under the relevant NSF/ANSI standards. Installation is performed by SC-licensed, insured partner plumbers. I am Puronics factory-trained on the equipment; the licensed plumber owns the rough-in.
Total installed price for the standard whole-home + RO package is $7,999. Three-part framing the way we publish it: $2.19 per day, $97 per month financed, $7,999 paid in full. That price is on the site at prstnwtr.com/why-our-price with the math behind each piece. We are the only Charleston-area dealer who publishes a price.
06 - What to expect
A free in-home water test, end to end
- We arrive in a marked vehicle and set up on your counter (5 minutes).
- We run the 6-panel test together. You see each result as it lands (20 minutes).
- We walk through the numbers in plain English. If your water tests fine, we tell you. If it does not, we explain the options and leave you a printed report (20 minutes).
- No sales pitch, no contract on the table, no pressure. We have published the price; if you want a quote it is the price on the site. If you do not, the test is yours either way.
07 - Service area
Where we cover
Pristine serves Summerville (29483, 29485, 29486) and the Berkeley / Dorchester / Charleston tri-county area. Common neighborhoods we test in weekly: Nexton, Cane Bay Plantation, Carnes Crossroads, Foxbank Plantation, Cypress Ridge, Carolina Groves, Pinehaven, and the established core of Summerville. If your zip is outside that list, call us at (843) 302-5720 and we will tell you what we can and cannot do.
08 - Get in touch
Three ways to reach us
- Book a free water test: prstnwtr.com/book
- Phone: (843) 302-5720 (call or text)
- Facebook: Pristine Water Networks (Summerville, SC)
Our standing offer: if your water tests fine, we tell you. If we cannot improve it materially with our equipment, we say that on your counter, before there is any conversation about a system. That is the floor we run on.