Material blasts out of a 28-inch steel pipe as bulldozers steadily move and shape it. Surveyors monitor elevation, and a quality assurance specialist scoops sand into a bag for testing. Just a few hundred feet away, families on vacation sit in beach chairs and kids watch the heavy machinery in awe. Renourishment has arrived on Folly Beach.
In late December 2023, the Charleston District awarded a contract to place 1.3 million cubic yards of sand—equivalent to 130,000 dump trucks—on Folly Beach. This emergency renourishment is in response to damages from Hurricane Ian in 2022 and is funded entirely by the Corps of Engineers at a cost of $18 million.
The project serves three main purposes: reducing the risk to the infrastructure behind the dunes from storms, dredging the Folly River federal navigation channel, and placing material on Bird Key to combat erosion on the critical bird habitat. The renourishment of Bird Key was completed earlier this year.
Instead of sourcing sand from an offshore borrow area, workers dredge the Folly River and deposit the sand along the beach, saving time and money.
“Allowing the Folly River to receive dredging and Folly Beach to receive sand at the same time reduces the time and costs associated with both projects,” said Wes Wilson, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District. “Rather than dredging the channel first and then returning next year to renourish the beach, we’re able to accomplish both tasks simultaneously.”
Gator Dredging, the primary contractor, and Marinex Dredging, the subcontractor, split the beach into two sections to complete the project in time. Gator Dredging began work at the Folly Beach County Park on the island’s southern tip, renourishing up to the eighth block area. Marinex Dredging, working simultaneously, began the renourishment at the eighth block area and will continue to the project’s northern end.
Folly Beach became one of the Corps’ first federal beach projects in 1993, when the initial renourishment was completed. Since then, the district has conducted two periodic renourishments and three emergency renourishments, placing a total of 8.3 million cubic yards of material on Folly Beach.
The Charleston District and the City of Folly Beach have maintained a strong partnership throughout the project’s duration. Collaborating annually for more than 21 years has fostered a close relationship that significantly contributes to the project’s success.
When a hurricane approaches the South Carolina coast, the city communicates with the district and conducts pre-storm surveys of the beach. After the hurricane, the district conducts post-storm surveys to assess sand loss. In order for an emergency renourishment to be authorized, a federal emergency disaster has to be declared, congress must approve supplemental funding and enough sand has to have eroded.
Following renourishment, the beach expands and the dunes become taller, creating a barrier between the ocean and the community making it more challenging for storm surge to penetrate inland. Historically, renourished beaches have proven more resilient during storms than non-renourished ones.
“Beginning construction now enables the long-term benefit of reducing the risk of damages for residents and businesses
before peak hurricane season,” Wilson said.
“While this project is crucial, there will be inconveniences as the construction is going on for the local residents and visitors during the busy summer period. However, the construction moves quickly and we have a tracker on both our website and the city’s that can keep people updated on the project’s movement.”
To some, the renourishment is seen as providing a wider beach with new sand for more room to enjoy the shore. For the City and the Corps, the renourishment is a vital coastal defense against an ever-relentless
mother nature. As Atlantic hurricanes strengthen and swell, Folly Beach stands tall, ready to weather the storm.
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2024 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 478351 |
| Location: | FOLLY BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Renourishment shores up coastal defense on Folly Beach, by Dylan Burnell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
