by the Town of Surfside Beach
Our beaches are constantly moving. The waves and the winds sculpt the sand into a multitude of shapes. Nature changes our beaches every day, and every day we lose a little bit of beach.
Last t summer, the Army Corps of Engineers spent several weeks dredging sand and renourishing our beaches. Booster pump stations were anchored off the shores, and piping was run under the water and onto the beach. Dredging barges pick up sand off the sea bottom, and transfer it to the pumping stations. The sand is deposited on the beach, and evenly spread with heavy equipment. The newly repaired beach is larger, more stable and provides a better storm barrier. Due to storm surges from several hurricanes over the past year, over half of the replacement sand has been washed away. The Army Corp has allocated over $34 million to replace the missing sand. Due to equipment scheduling issues, this work has to be completed during the summer season. Starting in August, over 14 miles of Grand Strand beaches will be renewed and refreshed. Every effort is made to complete the work as fast as possible and all the local beaches will remain open. You can track the progress of the work at https://arcg.is/Ly4Ce.
