One of the biggest draws to the Isle of Palms is of course its lovely beach, which extends the entire seven-mile length of the island.
And in exciting news, the Isle of Palms now has more and more beach sand by the day!
Feeding the beaches
The Isle of Palms has embarked on a major beach renourishment project this year. It’s taking place in three phases, or “Reaches,” as they’re called. Each one targets a particular part of the island.
Good news if you’re coming to stay in one of our Isle of Palms vacation rentals: the beach remains open all through the project. And, it’s getting better by the day, with wider beaches and healthier dunes.
Sand, sand and more sand…
You’ll hear a lot of talk about cubic yards of sand. Just how much is that? Well, to help visualize, one cubic yard of sand is about the size of a washing machine.
The Isle of Palms is what’s known as a barrier island, located between the mainland and the Atlantic Ocean. And the reality is that barrier islands are constantly in motion. Some parts erode, some parts accrete, affected by the tides, winds and weather patterns. Despite how solid the ground feels beneath our feet, it’s always in a state of flux.
In the case of the Isle of Palms, the beach had gotten quite narrow on the northern end in Wild Dunes toward Dewees Inlet, as well as the southern end toward Breach Inlet. Hence the need to add more sand. More about the IOP’s current big project in a minute.
First up, there was a big boost to the IOP beach within the last couple years…
Army Corps of Engineers’ free gift of a whole lot of sand
The Intracoastal Waterway is a vital navigable inland passage stretching all the way up the Eastern Seaboard. It roughly parallels the ocean and varies in distance from the coast along the way. In the case of the Isle of Palms, the Intracoastal runs right along the back side of the island, past the IOP Marina.
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is in charge of keeping the Intracoastal clear and deep enough for boats to safely travel it. Sand has a way of silting in and filling it, entering at spots like Breach Inlet, so the USACE comes through on a regular basis to dredge it. In fact, there’s been a stockpile of sand stored along the Intracoastal nearby, from some of their dredging projects over the last 15 years.
So a couple years ago, they decided to move this extra sand via a pipeline to help the beaches of the barrier islands around Breach Inlet - both the IOP and Sullivan’s Island. The USACE’s budget for the project: $10 million, with the islands having to pay absolutely nothing for the massive quantities of free sand. The south end of the Isle of Palms, nearest Breach Inlet, was earmarked to receive the lion’s share - around half a million cubic yards of sand. The north end of Sullivan’s: 175,000 cubic yards.
The project expanded, and actually just wrapped up this past May, lasting well over two years. They ended up dredging out a whole shoal in the Intracoastal and placing the sand on the IOP, all the way up to 9th Avenue.
Total sand added to the IOP by the USACE: about 700,000 washing machines - er, cubic yards - of sand! Read more about it here.
The City of IOP’s Big Beach Reaches
So back to the IOP’s current project. It’s a massive undertaking, which will add an additional 2.5 million cubic yards of sand to the Isle of Palms’ beach. 1.7 million will be added on the north end of the isle in Wild Dunes, and 800,000 on the south end toward Breach Inlet. Total cost: over $22.3 million. By starting work in the summer, they were able to save $10 million off the off-season quotes.
Funds come from various sources including the City of Isle of Palms’ Beach Preservation Fund/local accommodations tax, the Wild Dunes Community Association, and state grants from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.
They’re getting the sand from what they call a “borrow site” that’s a couple miles southwest of the Isle of Palms Pier near Front Beach.
Here’s a breakdown of the current renourishment:
- Reach 1 began after the July 4th holiday and was just completed - two weeks ahead of schedule, by the way - adding 900,000 cubic yards between Mariner’s Walk and Dewees Inlet. That amount of sand would fill 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools! It took 35 days of work by the City’s contractor, Marinex.
- Reach 2 began the very next day after Reach 1 finished. It tackles the area between the Wild Dunes Property Owners’ Beach House and 56th Avenue and will add 800,000 cubic yards of sand. This phase should take about 45 days, depending on the weather.
- Reach 3 will follow, adding another 800,000 cubic yards of sand to the south end of the island between the Isle of Palms Pier and Breach Inlet.
- They’ll be constructing a berm and restoring dunes along the way.
Like I mentioned, the beach will remain open during all of this work. Marinex will fence off a 300-yard area around construction for the public’s safety, which you can walk around. They’ll also create sand walkovers atop any dredging pipes, so you can pass over those easily.
For a full chronology of the latest offshore beach renourishment on the Isle of Palms, check out the official City of IOP website.
What about the loggerheads?
That’s an excellent question indeed, especially in light of that last blog. As the work progresses, if there is any indication of a loggerhead in the renourishment construction area, all lights and machinery are immediately stopped until she leaves. Marinex has a paid turtle monitor who takes the night shift, alert to any activity. The Turtle Team arrives to assess the situation and act as needed. In fact, before the project started, the Turtle Team relocated several nests from the impending Wild Dunes work zone, moving them to quieter areas further south down the beach.
By the way, here’s the latest loggerhead nesting and hatching report from turtle whisperer Mary Pringle:
- There have now been 43 loggerhead nests laid on the Isle of Palms. As of August 26th, 25 of those nests have hatched.
- Seven of the nests on neighboring Sullivan’s Island have hatched.
- Eggs hatched: 3,062
- Hatchlings in the ocean: 2,729
Just a quick reminder that if you do happen to see any sea turtle activity, be sure to call the IOP non-emergency number to report it - (843) 886-6522. The intrepid Turtle Team will check it out and act as needed.
Come see the ever-expanding IOP beach…
While Labor Day marks the end of the peak summer season, it also signals the beginning of lower rates for our luxury homes on the Isle of Palms. Contact us at EP and we’ll find the perfect Charleston beach house for your family or group. Come and watch the beach grow!
All best,
Lowcountry Lisa
your Isle of Palms vacation blogger