Florence lifts boil water advisory days after plant failure

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — Florence officials on Sunday lifted a boil water advisory that had been in place since Friday after sediment entered the city’s drinking supply.

“Following intense flushing of the distribution system, bacteriological samples were collected and analyzed,” utilities director Josh Whittington said in a statement. “The results of this sampling indicate that the system is safe to use for drinking and cooking purposes.”

Officials initially blamed the problem on upstream flooding tied to Tropical Storm Debby, but City Manager Scotty Davis on Saturday offered a much more blunt assessment.

“Quite frankly, it was a failure on staff’s part,” he said at the end of an emergency meeting on Saturday. “We’ve been debriefing with the staff, we’ve accepted those failures, we’ve made immediate corrections with staff.”

Florence provides drinking water to nearly 80,000 people, with 40% of its users serviced by the Frank E. Willis Pee Dee River Regional Surface Water Plant.

Florence’s city council on Saturday met behind closed doors to discuss a contract with engineering firm CDM Smith to review its policies.

Anyone with questions should contact the city at (843) 685-3236 or S.C. Department of Environmental Services at (843) 661-4825.

* * *

Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.