Updated 2026-07-13
South Carolina beach water quality
South Carolina has 24 public beaches in the EPA monitoring dataset, 17 of them with enough bacteria samples to grade. 6 earn an A for consistently clean water, while 5 grade an F for frequently exceeding the safe-swimming limit. Full ranking below.
A 6
B 3
C 2
D 1
F 5
| Grade | Beach | County | % over limit | Samples | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Hilton Head Island | Beaufort | 0% | 30 | Excellent |
| A | Isle Of Palms | Charleston | 0% | 24 | Excellent |
| A | Georgetown County Beach Litchfield Beach | Georgetown | 1.1% | 89 | Excellent |
| A | Fripp Island | Beaufort | 2.3% | 43 | Excellent |
| A | Seabrook Island | Charleston | 2.4% | 83 | Excellent |
| A | Briarcliffe Acres Town Of | Horry | 2.9% | 68 | Excellent |
| B | Georgetown County Beach Debordieu Beach | Georgetown | 3.5% | 113 | Good |
| B | Folly Beach | Charleston | 6.1% | 314 | Good |
| B | Georgetown County Beach Garden City Beach | Georgetown | 6.6% | 348 | Good |
| C | Myrtle Beach City Of | Horry | 7.5% | 40 | Fair |
| C | Edisto Island | Charleston | 10% | 40 | Fair |
| D | Horry County Beach Arcadia Beach | Horry | 17.1% | 123 | Poor |
| F | North Myrtle Beach City Of | Horry | 28.6% | 63 | Failing |
| F | Sullivans Island | Charleston | 38.3% | 548 | Failing |
| F | Georgetown County Beach Huntington Beach State Park | Georgetown | 43.1% | 642 | Failing |
| F | Surfside Beach Town Of | Horry | 44.3% | 230 | Failing |
| F | Horry County Beach Garden City Beach | Horry | 76.1% | 113 | Failing |
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