Pool Repair in Awendaw, SC

AWENDAW, S.C. (WCSC) - A smelly situation in the Town of Awendaw is leaving some neighbors not drinking their tap water, but the town confirms it’s still safe to drink as they’re working on a plan to fix the stench.

Town of Awendaw residents, Don Mangun and Danielle Nelson, say they’re in the midst of this stinky situation.

“It seems like every two to three months the water really gets smelling bad,” Mangun said.

“But it has been every day since around Christmas time this last year,” Nelson said.

And they say it’s taking over their lives, adding that the water smells incredibly pungent.

“Like rotten eggs, a rotten mop or something like that,” Mangun said. “It’s just horrible.”

“Trying to brush your teeth is nauseating to where I’ve had to start using bottled water,” Nelson said. “Washing my clothes — sometimes I have to wash clothes several cycles.”

Awendaw’s Town Administrator Katharine Watkins says the smell is coming from hydrogen sulfide found in the water, which is common in the coastal Charleston Area and in the Santee Aquifer. They say some folks can smell this as low as 0.5 parts per billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Plus, the smell has been stronger recently because the state is in a drought.

So, to help fix this, the town has purchased a chlorine analyzer for $50,000 worth of American Rescue Plan Act funding, which will provide chlorine residual information 24 hours a day. They can then use that information to help them better treat the water to offset the hydrogen sulfide. She says they hope it will be fully operational in the middle of June.

Watkins says the water may still smell off and on after then, but not nearly as bad. The town is also asking folks to do their part in the meantime.

“Which means turning on the spicket in their house,” Watkins said. “Turning on the spicket outside. And also flushing it out of your hot water tank because if it’s still sitting in there, and you turn on your hot water heater, some of that smell can still be residual there.”

Watkins says their water department also flushes the system every 45 days to keep it flowing. When they receive complaints, the town’s water operator will conduct targeted flushing of the system for that area.

She says they’ve also been working with the South Carolina Rural Water Association for additional solutions. They have that budgeted in the next fiscal year.

Watkins says the water system is in compliance with all state and federal regulatory agencies.

“You can’t put a price on someone’s health,” Nelson said. “And neither should the town. They should fix these issues.”

“Just know that the water is safe,” Watkins said. “...They’re in mind that it will take some time. We understand that it is a nuisance. We understand that people are making those complaints. We just asked that you work with us.”

If neighbors wish to get their homes tested, they are asked to contact the town’s water department directly at water@townofawendawsc.org and can receive the results after a few days.

Off the southbound lane of Highway 17 on the edge of Awendaw sits an old rustic building that was constructed as a general store in 1929. Local Mary Rancourt purchased the business in 1960, and around 1995, she converted it into the Seewee Restaurant. Over the decades, the establishment has become a local treasure because of the beloved family who runs it, the food and the people who make and serve it, their contribution to the community and the history of the space itself.

Although Rancourt isn’t as involved in the day-to-day operations as she used to be, she often makes the rounds to visit with the regulars. Rancourt’s son, Tim Penninger, who manages the business now, said he came on board with the restaurant about five years ago when his mother started thinking of retiring. Before that, he worked as a heavy civil marine contractor with Cape Romain Contractors. As senior inspector building the Ravenel Bridge, he was in charge of constructing the towers.

“I climbed 568 feet to the top to take a look at the engineering,” Penninger recounted. “While I was up there, I noticed how amazing it is to see so far with the naked eye. The Seewee Restaurant is 20-ish miles from Mount Pleasant. I couldn’t see the restaurant, but I could see the marsh right before you get to it.”

Penninger remarked of Sewee, “We stake our fortune on fresh veggies and shrimp, which we get from Carolina Seafood in McClellanville.” Crowd pleasers include the fried shrimp and she-crab soup, made from his great-grandmother’s recipe. “The portions are absurd,” he said. “If you leave here hungry, it’s your fault.”

Some of Seewee’s waitresses have worked there for over 20 years, Penninger said. “We also employ high school and college students to work the floor and cash registers.”

The most rewarding part of the family business, Penninger said, is being able to give back to the community. “Sometimes people come in hungry but they don’t have any money. But nobody’s going to come here and be turned away.”

Like an antique, the building itself has weathered with time. Penninger said, “The old counter and shelves are still there. They were part of the general store, just like the flooring, ceiling and doors, which are all original. The threshold is run down and the finish on the brick steps has worn off. These are more than just the bones of a nearly 100-year-old building, though. No one could ever replicate this; it’s evolved on its own over time.”

Two giant frying pans adorning one wall whisper stories of the Lowcountry’s soulful past. “The pans are a little under 200 years old,” Penninger explained. “They’re between 25 to 30 inches in circumference and have long handles for cooking over a fire. They were definitely handmade, probably on the nearby Fairlawn Plantation. My grandfather was friends with the builder of the general store, who lived at Fairlawn, and he gave these pans to him as a gift.”

To learn more about experiencing their iconic Southern fare, visit seeweerestaurantinc.com.