Newsletter1 -- Myrtle Beach Renourishment Project -- Lee Wrenn & Associates, Inc.

Myrtle Beach Shore Protection Project
Reach 3
Surfside Beach · Garden City · July 1997

Why Beach Renourishment on the Grand Strand ?

Low erosion rates make the Grand Strand the perfect beach nourishment candidate.
The revenue producing aspect of the resource makes this an economically sound investment.
A progressive coastal management program ensures wise use of the resource.
A wider beach greatly lessens claims made to the federally subsidized flood insurance program.

Total Project Overview

This project dwarfs all previous beach nourishment efforts in South Carolina. Three separate projects; cover 25 miles, from N. Myrtle Beach to Garden City. Sand will be dredged from 4 borrow sites, 1.5 miles to 5 miles offshore. The volume of sand and width of finished beach will vary according to natural beach characteristics. More sand is needed in areas with the higher erosion rates. The additional beach should last eight to ten years, provided no major storms occur. Afterwards, periodic nourishment will be needed, but less sand is required for subsequent cycles. The federal government has authorized the renourishment portion of the overall project for the next 40 / 50 years.

Total Project Status

Reach 1, North Myrtle Beach, began September 1996. This portion of the project was completed in May 1997.

Reach 2, Myrtle Beach: Sand placement began April 1997. Completion is expected in the fall of 1997.

Reach 3, Surfside Beach and Garden City: The joint project sponsors including Horry County, Georgetown County and Surfside Beach have initiated the easement acquisition phase. Advertisement and award of contract to place sand on the beach will begin immediately after the acquisitions are completed, which should be in January 1998.

Reach 3 Initial Construction

The project will involve the nourishment of 7.7 miles of beach. The initial nourishment will add 1.7 million cubic yards of sand. Construction will include the placement of sand fill sloped to match the naturally occurring beach profile. Additional fill will be placed on the beach initially as advanced maintenance. The width of the beach will increase 75 to 120 linear feet. Sand for the Reach 3 project will come from a borrow site located approximately 3 miles offshore of Surfside Beach. Sand will be dredged from this site and pumped onto the beach by pipeline where bulldozers will form the desired beach profile.

Periodic Renourishment

After the initial construction, the beach is scheduled for periodic renourishments every 8 years for the 40 year life of the project.

Funding

The total cost over the life of the Reach 3 project is estimated to be $50.5 million. The initial construction is estimated to cost $12.5 million. Project costs are shared between federal, state and local sources. The federal share is 65% and the non-federal share is 35%. Non-federal funding is cost shared between the state and local sponsors. Room tax revenues are the primary source of local funds.

Current Status of the Reach 3 Project

To keep the Reach 3 · Surfside-Garden City portion of the project on the move the project sponsors must first obtain easements from the oceanfront property owners whose deeds show that their property extends onto the beach within the nourishment area. The sponsors anticipate little if any difficulty in obtaining the easements since the project will not only enhance the appearance of the beach but will also protect properties from high tide and storm events.

The local government project sponsors have contracted with Wrenn & Associates, Inc. to obtain the required easements. Questions concerning the easements may be directed to Lee Wrenn at P.O. Box 16710, Surfside Beach, SC 29587.

Surveys maps are nearing completion and title searches are now being done to determine the owners of the affected lots. When the maps and title searches are completed, owners of affected parcels will be contacted and asked to provide permission for the placement of sand on that portion of their property that lies out on the beach strand.

Source information was obtained from the following sources and reproduced with the author’s permission:
General Design Memorandum by Corps of Engineers and
information fact sheets by Donna McCaskill of Ocean Coastal Resources Management.