Is Rock Hill City Water Safe? Good? Healthy?

How safe is our drinking water in Rock Hill, South Carolina? And is it good for you?

For years I have recommended drinking water at Cranford Dental. This year, I researched our city’s water to make sure it is safe and healthy for my patients and family.

Good water is healthy for your teeth and your entire body. In fact, drinking water is one of the best things you can do for your dental health. For sure, it is the most cost effective way to prevent dental problems.

The citizens of Rock Hill count on superb water for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, clothes, and cars—and of course for brushing our teeth.

Now I can report that we have good water—-or even better—we have terrific water in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

See for yourself by reading below about our city’s water—and then drink up. Your teeth will thank you.

The City of Rock Hill Water Report

Every year the City of Rock Hill produces a “Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report.” The report tells exactly where water comes from and how the plant makes it safe for us.

Access the water report here: 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has very stringent requirements that public water systems must meet to ensure that tap water is safe to drink. Also, the EPA requires all public water systems to publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report that explains how the drinking water standards are achieved.

The details in this report and were amazing and easy to understand.  Honestly, this was an interesting read.

Important Facts about Water Purification in Rock Hill

1. Water purification is a complex, multistep process. Minerals (like carbon) are added to remove bad taste and odor. Then other minerals cause particles to coagulate and filter out through anthracite and sand.
   
   
2. The plant adds elements (which also occur naturally in water) to the water:
   • Chlorine – to kill bacteria
   • Lime – to reduce acidity
   • Phosphate – to reduce corrosion of copper pipes and possible lead solders in homes.
   • Fluoride – hailed by the CDC as a “top ten public health initiative” in preventing dental disease 
     
3. Treating the water follows well researched guidelines which work to keep us safe.
    
4. We appreciate the pure water standards, to avoid a failed water system like in Flint, Michigan.
    
5. Likewise, we do not want our children to suffer from tooth decay like they did when the level of fluoride was not adequate to protect their teeth.

Interesting Facts about Water Production in Rock Hill

1. Rock Hill’s water source is the Catawba River, which originates in the North Carolina mountains. The Catawba River Basis drains an area of 3,285 square miles that flows into the river via almost 8,000 miles of streams.
    
2. The raw water intake for Rock Hill is on Lake Wylie in a highly protected and regulated area. The Water Quality report has a good picture of the intake plant.
   
   
3. Unpurified water flows south in large pipes to the Rock Hill Water Filtration Plant on Cherry Road. Rock Hill added to and updated multiple times over the decades.
    
4. The plant’s job is to remove minerals and other substances that human activity has added to the water. An uninterrupted supply of high quality H2O exceeding Federal Regulatory standards is the benchmark.
    
5. Volume of our water production and usage is staggering: processing over 48 million gallons per day. That is an astounding 8.6 billion gallons per year.
    
6. Rock Hill sells water: Besides the 75,000 residents of Rock Hill, the city provides water to Fort Mill, Tega Cay, York, and some private water suppliers.

Water Safety at your Home in Rock Hill, SC

Most people in Rock Hill receive water from the City of Rock Hill. The city will send an annual water quality letter, or Consumer Confidence Report. This will come in your July water bill.

This report will cover contaminants found and possible health effects. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates and monitors the reports, making them very reliable to you.

I am confident that your will reach my same conclusion: Rock Hill water is healthy and safe.

If your drinking water does not come from a public water system or you get your water from a household well, then you are responsible for the safety of the water.

Go to this website from the EPA to see how to test the safety of your water and keep it safe for your family.

If your water does not have fluoride (well water or a small independent water system) talk to your dentist about the best way to add fluoride, especially if you have children or elderly adults in your home.

Interview on Water Safety for your home: WRHI Rock Hill, SC

What your Dentist Wants You to Know About Tap Water

1. Drink water! Eliminate your soda habit. Save money. Protect your teeth!
    
2. There is NO benefit to drinking bottled water. Again, save money.
    
3. The best water is pH balanced and neutral or slightly alkaline, such as tap water. Acidic water, like in some bottled water, can damage your teeth.
    
4. Rock Hill’s water contains 0.8 parts per million of fluoride, the equivalent of one drop in 13 gallons of water.
    
5. Save money. One gallon of Rock Hill water costs less than $0.005, or 1/2 of 1 cent. ($22.30/5000 gallons according to the January 2023 SC Rural Infrastructure Authority 2022 Municipal Water and Sewer Rate Survey.
   
   
6. Reduce waste. Drink tap water from a glass or better yet a cool water flask.
   
   
7. If you still want to drink bottled water after reading this, look up the data on the water you buy. Avoid any water with pH level lower than 5.5. And consider adding fluoride if you are drinking mostly bottled water.

Water and Cranford Dental in Rock Hill, SC

In 1960 I visited the water treatment plant with my cub scout den. That’s me 2nd from right.

This tour began my fascination with purifying water.

Then, I went back to the water plant with a Come See Me event in about 1990. Elizabeth remembers going with me on the tour. It was a great time for this dentist and future dentist.

Later, while in dental school, I began to realize the importance of water to prevent problems with the teeth, especially for young children and older adults.

In my preventive dental practice, the hygienists and dentists encourage patients to drink plenty of water, especially before, during, and right after eating food.

Contact Cranford Dental or call 803-324-7670 if you have any questions about how water will help protect your teeth. We would love to share more information with you.

Obviously, I love this topic!

Most important of all, have another glass of clear, cool, delicious Rock Hill water.