H. 5111: Protecting Your Right to Use Your Own Well
H. 5111 (126th Session) adds Section 6‑1‑200 to the South Carolina Code of Laws to protect property owners’ rights to use private water wells on agricultural land or single‑family residential property of one‑half acre or more.
The bill’s primary sponsor is Saluda’s own Rep. Cal Forrest, who continues to work hard for the people of Saluda County by defending property rights and pushing back against government overreach.
What H. 5111 Does
- Stops counties, cities, and special purpose districts from banning or unreasonably restricting the drilling, operation, repair, or maintenance of private wells — even when public water is available.
- Allows property owners to keep and use a private well while connected to a public system, as long as they install and pay for an approved backflow prevention device and register the well with the local provider.
- Requires owners to continue paying base charges and fees to the public system, even if they draw little or no water from it.
- Bars local governments from restricting private wells when a public system has officially documented water‑quality problems.
- Prohibits local governments from forcing a connection to their water system if they cannot actually provide service and do not notify the owner in writing within 30 days.
- Does not allow disconnection from an existing public water connection and does not change rules for public or community wells.
- Takes effect upon the Governor’s approval.
Why It Matters
- Property rights & limited government: Ends heavy‑handed mandates that force rural and suburban families and farmers onto expensive municipal systems when they already have a safe, working well.
- Lower costs: Protects homeowners, seniors, and farmers from unnecessary hookup fees and higher monthly bills — stopping water mandates from becoming a hidden tax.
- Reliability & backup: Keeps private wells available as a backup in droughts, infrastructure failures, or public‑system problems, while still protecting public health with backflow and registration requirements.
- Pro‑rural growth: Removes barriers for new homes, farms, and small businesses in counties like Saluda, supporting self‑reliance and local control instead of one‑size‑fits‑all mandates.
H. 5111 passed the House unanimously (109–0) on April 14–15, 2026, and now sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans in the House have delivered a strong, bipartisan win for property rights. Saluda County Republicans urge our senators to support H. 5111 and send it to the Governor’s desk.
