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ScribeBy: Deneshia Graham of The Post and
Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 6/12/03
As the Fourth of July approaches, Isle of Palms beach-goers could find themselves sharing the sands with more than 1,000 Folly Beach bathers -- the result of a sand-dredging project that is expected to occupy Folly Beach County Park for up to two weeks beginning Monday.
The project is expected to increase visitor pressure on the county park at the Isle of Palms and unaffected portions of Folly Beach. Many people who usually go to the park on Folly will want to go to another site, said Jeff Schryver, director of planning and development with the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission.
The dredging is a 10- to 14-day process in which large pipes will pump 70,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beach from the Folly River, Schryver said.
That's enough sand to fill six football fields eight feet high. Sand will be added to the entire 1,200-foot-long bathers' area of the beach, about 200 feet wide. The project will pump an additional 50,000 cubic yards to Skimmer Flats, a nearby pelican nesting site.
The beach isn't closed, but the pumped sand will be wet. While the project should only affect half the beach at low tide, bathers will be hard-pressed to find a dry spot on the sand at high tide, he said.
The first week will probably be the most inconvenient, Schryver said, and everything is expected to be back to normal no later than June 30 -- four days shy of the July 4th holiday, when going to the beach is a common pastime.Barring the holiday, about 1,000 people use Folly Beach County Park on the weekdays and 2,000 on the weekends, according to the CCPRC.
Isle of Palms County Park, which has nearly double the parking of Folly, sees 1,500 each weekday and 2,500 on weekends. Beachwalker County Park on Kiawah Island has a 50-0/800 split for weekdays and weekends.
While each of these sites have beach access outside of the county park area, people tend to frequent the county parks because they offer lifeguards, bathrooms and showers, Schryver said.
The dredging, which will be done by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, was initially scheduled for mid-May, Schryver said.
Attempts to contact Army Corp of Engineers officials were unsuccessful.
Folly Beach County Park has seen much erosion and half of its parking area is gone, according to Schryver. "It's like gold to us. It's the ultimate recycling project," he said of getting the sand.
Also, the sand is much needed for the $650,000 groin project this Fall, which will hold sand in place, saving the heavily used park from rapid erosion, CCPRC officials have said.
The town of Kiawah Island and environmental groups objected to the groin plan, claiming the concrete-and-steel structure would stop the natural flow of sand and cause beach erosion to the south.
In March, state environmental authorities approved construction of the groin, adding that the CCPRC must monitor down-shore islands and set aside $200,000 to rebuild beaches if they erode. Those assurances in hand, opponents said they will not challenge the permit, apparently ending a three-year battle.
Ed Duncan, environmental program director with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, said the dredging is also beneficial for the agency which is trying to rebuild sand dunes on Skimmer Flats, part of the state Historic Trust Preserve.
Bird Key Stono, which includes Skimmer Flats and other sand shoals, was nearly destroyed a few years ago when dredging was done to renourish all of Folly's beachfront, Duncan said. This caused the pelicans to be placed on the state's endangered species list.
The current dredging project, a type of maintenance done every 18 months to keep the Folly River at a certain depth, requires considerably less sand than a total beach renourishment.
"We're happy to get the sand too," Duncan said, adding that it should provide five acres of nesting habitats.
In addition to having more sand to nest on, Duncan said the pelicans won't be bothered during the dredging.
"We are going to be out there," said Duncan, "ensuring that everything is properly done."
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