North Augusta Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

North Augusta, South Carolina, in Aiken County across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia — the Aiken-Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area South Carolina anchor, connected to Augusta by the Savannah River waterfront and the Jackson Bridge — receives its municipal water from the North Augusta Utility Department Water Treatment Plant, which draws from the Savannah River at an intake in the North Augusta-Augusta reach. The Savannah River provides the primary water supply for the Augusta metro area on both the Georgia and South Carolina sides.

The moderately hard 140 mg/L hardness and TDS of 354.2 mg/L reflect the Savannah River's watershed geology as it enters the Augusta reach. The Savannah River at this point has drained the Blue Ridge Province (crystalline granites, gneisses, and metamorphic rocks of the Southern Appalachians from the North Carolina-Georgia mountains), Lake Hartwell, and Lake Thurmond (Strom Thurmond Reservoir) on the Savannah River basin Piedmont. The Blue Ridge and Piedmont crystalline terrains are inherently soft, but the Savannah River's transit through reservoir storage and the Georgia-South Carolina Piedmont transition adds moderate dissolved mineral content by the Augusta reach.

At 140 mg/L, North Augusta's water is moderately hard — manageable for everyday household use. Scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, the dishwasher benefits from rinse aid, and faucet aerators need periodic cleaning. Quarterly descaling of heating appliances is the standard schedule. The elevated PFAS level of 7.8 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — the Augusta metro area's Fort Gordon (now Fort Eisenhower) Army installation (one of the Southeast's major cyber and signal intelligence centers), the historic Augusta Canal industrial heritage, and the Savannah River Site nuclear complex upstream in Aiken County all contribute to the elevated PFAS in the Savannah River supply at the North Augusta reach.