Pauline is a small community in southern Spartanburg County where SC 56 meets SC 215, first counted as a census-designated place in 2020 with 209 residents. Until the 1890s it was called Stribling. When the community applied for a post office and that name was taken, it was renamed for the postmaster's daughter. The William Dixon Fowler House here was added to the National Register in 2012.
This is open farm country near Glenn Springs, and the plumbing follows from that. Spartanburg Water supplies water along the main roads, including a 12-inch line serving Pauline that once broke and put about 350 people on a boil advisory. Homes are generally on septic systems, and many use propane for gas appliances.
Pauline is unincorporated, so Spartanburg County Building Codes handles plumbing and gas permits. Its schools are in Spartanburg County School District 6. Pauline is within the Gas Guys service area, and our main line is answered 24/7.
Pauline at a glance
- Natural gas
- Varies: Piedmont where mains run, propane elsewhere. We could not confirm natural gas mains in Pauline; homes beyond Piedmont's system run gas appliances on propane, and your bill or a call to Piedmont settles it.
- Water
- Spartanburg Water
- Sewer
- Mostly septic
- Permits
- Spartanburg County Building Codes
- Housing
- Farmhouses and rural homes on larger lots, plus newer houses along SC 56 and the county roads.
Plumbing and gas in Pauline: what to know
After a boil advisory
Once a boil advisory lifts, run the cold water at each faucet for a few minutes, and flush ice makers and drinking water filters. If your water heater took in discolored water, draining a few gallons from its drain valve clears the sediment.
Long service lines
The meter is at the road, and in Pauline the house may sit a long way back. A service line that long can crack from settling or root pressure, and the leak may never surface. A meter that keeps turning with every fixture off is the clearest sign of a hidden leak.
Laundry day and the septic system
Several large loads of laundry back to back can overload a septic system and the drain line to it, especially in wet weather when the drain field is already saturated. Spreading laundry over the week and catching lint at the washer discharge helps the system last.
Water heater choices without natural gas
Without natural gas, the choices are electric, propane or a heat pump water heater. A propane tankless unit gives continuous hot water, while a heat pump unit cuts electric use sharply. If Duke Energy supplies your power, our Duke Energy Trade Ally status lets us help with its heat pump water heater rebate.