Awendaw Under Boil Water Advisory

By Staff Reports

The Town of Awendaw under boil water advisory according to town officials in Awendaw, all residents serviced by the town water department must boil their water before drinking until further notice. A statement by mayoral candidate Joe Bowers follows.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office says this advisory will be in effect for at least three days.

Officials say crews are in the area of U.S. 17 North near Porcher School Road working to repair a break in the waterline.

Officials say water has been restored to most of the town, but residents near Porcher School  Road will remain without water until the break has been repaired.

Statement by Mayoral Candidate Joe Bowers

Joe Bowers, a candidate for Mayor of Awendaw issued the following statement on the situation:

“This morning, residents serviced by the Town of Awendaw Water Department woke to find no water coming out of their faucets.

“The shortcomings of the water system have been known for some time by town officials who have neglected to fully address the problems. To date, the town has only one treatment facility to service the entire system. There is no connection to neighboring systems in case of emergency. The second treatment facility has been built but lacks the equipment to be operational, and won’t likely happen for a good while with the town’s current finances owing over $200,000 to Charleston County.

“Today’s unfortunate events put our citizens at great health risk and prove that the current town officials have no proper procedure for handling an issue of this magnitude. If they can’t balance a check book, then we know they can’t properly operate a water system.

“As Mayor it will be my number-one priority to establish proper procedures for handling emergency situations like today’s and make an emergency treated water source available to the town’s water customers. “