For new-build families, Nexton, Cane Bay, Carnes
Your house is four months old. The shower door already has spots, the chlorine taste is real, and a Cane Bay moms thread just pointed you at the word PFAS. Everything below is what we tell the family next door, in the same words, with the citations attached.
The short version
Is the tap water in Nexton, Cane Bay, and Carnes Crossroads safe to drink?
It is legal under federal drinking-water standards and measurably above EWG's stricter health guidelines. Both Summerville CPW and Berkeley County Water and Sanitation source from Lake Moultrie, which means your neighborhood shares the same PFAS profile as every other address on the system. Hardness runs 5.5 to 7.2 grains per gallon. A free in-home test measures your specific home's numbers, the data you need to decide without guessing.
Source: EWG Tap Water Database, PWSID SC1810003; Summerville CPW Consumer Confidence Report
Here is what your water looks like
Both utilities in your area, Summerville CPW (serves Dorchester-side Nexton, parts of Cane Bay) and Berkeley County Water and Sanitation (serves Berkeley-side Nexton, most of Cane Bay, Carnes) - draw from Lake Moultrie. That means the PFAS profile you read about in the Post and Courier is your profile too. The hardness number explains the scale. The remediation timeline explains why you are on your own for the next five years.
Sources: EWG Tap Water Database (PWSID SC1810003), Summerville CPW Consumer Confidence Report, CPW PFAS information page. Read the full interpretation at /water-in-summerville.
Questions we hear from Nexton-Cane Bay-Carnes families
Your water is legal under federal standards and measurably outside EWG's stricter health guidelines. Summerville CPW (Dorchester-side Nexton) and Berkeley County Water and Sanitation (Cane Bay, Carnes, Berkeley-side Nexton) both draw from Lake Moultrie. EWG's analysis of CPW data (PWSID SC1810003) identifies 11 compounds above their health guidelines, including PFUnA at approximately 1,183x the advisory level. Hardness runs 5.5 to 7.2 grains per gallon, classified as moderately hard. The scale on the shower door and the chlorine taste are both explained by those two facts.
Yes, significantly. Slab-on-grade homes in Nexton, Cane Bay, and Carnes typically come pre-plumbed with a dedicated loop for the softener. That means the install is roughly 2 to 2.5 hours instead of 4.5, there is no cutting of finished walls, and the system lives in the garage near the main line. About 90% of new construction in the three master-planned communities is slab with the loop. We confirm on the water-test appointment which specific configuration your builder used.
Do two things in this order. First, get the free in-home test so you have your home's actual hardness, chlorine, pH, TDS, iron, and manganese numbers in writing. Second, if PFAS is your concern, order the SCDES state lab test ($30) or ask us to coordinate it. The in-home test does not detect PFAS; a state-lab panel does. The urgency is yours to set, CPW's $96M regional PFAS remediation is not scheduled to complete until 2029-2031, so waiting for the utility fix is a multi-year wait. Most families we meet book the test inside the first 90 days of moving in.
What to do next
Path 1, Ready
45 minutes, on your counter, both spouses present (we prefer it). Hardness, chlorine, TDS, pH, iron, manganese. You get the written results. No pitch.
Path 2, Researching
The five PFAS compounds, the $96M timeline, the EWG multipliers, the March 2026 boil advisory. Every claim links to the source.
Path 3, Comparing
The Amazon path, the local-handyman path, and ours - priced against each other for 10 years. Financing breakdown at $95 per month.
Neighborhood-specific data: Nexton, Cane Bay, Carnes Crossroads.
Who we are, in receipts
Neighbor reviews from Nexton, Cane Bay, and Carnes are coming as our first installs complete. Until then, what matters more than a star count is what you can verify independently. All four of these, you can.
The equipment we install is built by a manufacturer that has been in business since the 1940s. The warranty is backed by Puronics, not by us alone. Verify at puronics.com.
The under-sink reverse osmosis unit is certified to NSF/ANSI 42 (aesthetic effects) and NSF/ANSI 58 (reverse-osmosis performance) through Franklin Water Treatment LLC. Verify at info.nsf.org.
We subcontract installation to a South Carolina LLR-verified licensed plumber. The license number is on the quote, the invoice, and the certificate of installation. We never misrepresent Jarred as a licensed plumber himself.
Under 16 CFR Part 429, you can cancel any in-home sale within three business days for any reason. We treat that as a feature, not fine print. The form comes in writing at the appointment.
Reviews coming after the first ten installs. We do not solicit, script, or incentivize reviews.
Where to go from here
Book the free in-home test if you already know you want the numbers in writing. Or read the full Summerville water dossier first, it links out to EWG, CPW, and the EPA rule. Come back when you are ready.
