The Federal Government has, after 2 years of dragging their feet, given new hope to the Grand Strand in the form of a $56 Million earmark for Beach Renourishment and stormwater outfalls.
Up until recently, everytime it rained, the water runoff from the streets, which is tainted with every imaginable polutant, would flow onto the sand of our beaches via drain pipes, and mix with the incoming surf. This practice would cause the Department of Health and Environmental Controls ( DHEC ) to issue swim advisories for areas affected by this runoff.
If you are on vacation the last thing you want to hear is that the Ocean water is Unsafe to swim in, Leaving a lot of our tourists with a bad perception of their vacation experience in Myrtle Beach.
Over the last couple of years the municipalities up and down the Grand Strand have been extending those Storm Water outfalls further out into the Ocean, where the polutants will dilute into the Ocean before coming back onshore in a much less concetrated ammount. (parts per million)
Hopefully this will cause DHEC to stop issuing Health alerts everytime it rains.
The $56 million dollars Will also go toward some much needed Beach Renourishment, where sand is pumped onto the beach from offshore, to make up for erosion caused by unusual tides during severe weather events.
Wide beaches and NO health warnings will go a bit toward extending a memorable vacation to our guests, Maybe so much so that they will think of Myrtle Beach and The Grand Strand as an area that they will go back to year after year and maybe even dream of coming here on a permanent basis. I know I did.
These monies, $56M, will be up for a final vote in the next couple of weeks. Let's hope.
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