South Carolina Homeowners Will Pay for Dredging

Officials in North Myrtle Beach say residents in the Cherry Grove, S.C., area could be billed up to $24,000 each to dredge the small canals that lead to their property.

Officials in North Myrtle Beach estimate the project will cost about $13 million, The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported.

North Myrtle Beach spokesman Pat Dowling said the city already has spent more than $1 million in legal and engineering fees and has set aside more than $1.5 million for the dredging.

He says the rest will have to come from about 700 people whose property overlooks the water in the Cherry Grove area.

“That’s the fairest and most logical way to do it,” Dowling said. “Otherwise, you’ll have eternal arguments.”

The cost would be spread over a 10-year period.

The channels were created in the late 1940s and early 1950s.Many of them are now too clogged to allow boats in and out during low tide.

The city started a feasibility study on the project in 2004.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for the dredging last year.

Dowling said the dredging is expected to increase property values along the channels by up to 40 percent, which is part of the reason city officials have said property owners should pay for the dredging.

City Council is expected to consider the next step in the project at its Nov. 17 meeting.