Posted on February 11, 2025
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) – Isle of Palms leaders have applied for permits to dredge parts of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and the city marina to deepen the water access.
The permits, filed in January, note that parts of the marina measure only eight feet deep and the plans are to make the intercoastal entrance 12 feet deep and the Morgan Creek inlet where the marina is located ten feet deep.
The project is part of regular upkeep and the last time the marina was dredged was in 2011. Mayor Phillip Pounds says it’s an important way to preserve waterway access.
“We spend so much time and effort on the beach side of our island. This marina, this dock, the dredging, you know, it’s the focus on the intercoastal side or the creek area that sometimes doesn’t get as much attention as you like, but again, the purpose of the marina was to provide access to the water for those that didn’t have it,” Pounds says.
In 2023, the State Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism earmarked $1.5 million for the city to spend on dredging. That source will be the main fund for the work, which does not have a final price tag as it is in the early application stage.
“It just naturally silts back in. So it’s time to do that again. So hopefully we’ll get the permit this year, and at some point, line up a contractor and get the project done, maybe late this year, more likely first half of next year,” Pounds says.
The project plans to remove up to 20,000 cubic yards of soil, sand and silt material from the bottom of the channel. There are a few proposals for what to do with those materials.
Ideas include putting the materials under the Isle of Palms connector, onto Goat Island, at Inlet Creek or Swinton Creek on the opposite side of the intercoastal waterway. Another proposal is to put the sediment material on parts of the Wild Dunes Harbor Course, building up the land.
The routine dredging applications come around the same time the city celebrated the opening of its first public dock on the intercoastal waterway.
The mayor and city leaders hope to continue improving the plot of land at 40 51st Avenue making it an asset for visitors and residents alike.
“They’ve added a boat club with our new tenant over here at the marina. So it’s just been a lot of amenities added to this area and improvements made. We’ve invested a lot of time and energy and money, obviously, out here,” Pounds says.
