ISLE OF PALMS, South Carolina – Beachfront houses on the Isle of Palms are still suffering with considerable erosion damage, with emergency sandbags now bordering the beach as a temporary barrier.
Homes around numerous portions of the barrier island face severe drop-offs caused by sand pushed away during this weekend’s high tides. City officials responded by laying emergency sandbags along the affected beaches to safeguard the susceptible properties.
The erosion occurs as current city beach restoration initiatives continue, including a large US Army Corps of Engineers initiative that began prior to the recent sand loss. The federal project will place approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand along the intertidal zone between 2nd and 10th avenues, with an additional 200,000 cubic yards planned for properties near the inlet.
Walter Leach, who bought his Isle of Palms house in 2000 and relocated there permanently in 2012, says the current coastline damage is especially disheartening given the ongoing rehabilitation efforts.
“The issue, people have been reluctant to try to reach some final conclusions on what to do until this big Corps of Engineers project occurred,” according to Leach. “It was a novel technique, new technology, and they felt it would be really helpful, but I believe it has already been demonstrated that it will not work. So the real question is, ‘What are we going to do now?’.”
Leach remarked that erosion has been a long-standing issue, making the current situation particularly unpleasant for long-term inhabitants.
City authorities were expected to meet Tuesday evening to discuss the next steps in restoring the damage and resolving the persistent erosion issues in the popular beach neighborhood.
