Holding the Line: The Sacrificial Sands of the Grand Strand

To the millions of visitors who flock to South Carolina’s coast every year, the beach offers relaxation. But to the engineers and coastal experts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, the beach acts as armor.

As storms grow fiercer and more frequent, these sandy barriers ensure survival for the communities built just beyond them. The secret to this defense system lies in its sacrificial design. The ocean takes the sand during a violent storm. By washing it away, the sand absorbs wave energy, keeping the homes, businesses and infrastructure behind the dunes intact.

"The sand we place on these beaches isn't just for recreation; it's a precisely engineered system designed to take the hit so that local communities don't have to," said Sonja Carter, USACE Charleston District project manager for the Grand Strand Renourishment project. "Our primary mission is coastal storm risk management, and the sacrificial nature of this sand is exactly how we hold the line."

A History Written by Storms

The Grand Strand is generally renourished every 10 years. However, due to the frequency of recent severe weather, the project has never seen a routine renourishment. Instead, emergency operations in 2007, 2017 into 2018, and 2026 have defined its history.

Aside from initial construction in 1998, storm damage authorized every mobilization of heavy equipment to these shores.

Hurricane Ian battered the coast in September 2022, causing significant erosion across the Grand Strand. The Category 1 storm eroded nearly 360,000 cubic yards of sand from the beach. A post-storm inspection revealed the beach profile was severely damaged. Berm erosion and vegetation and fencing loss were also observed.

Hurricane Debby followed in August 2024. The slow-moving storm lingered off the coast for two days, battering the Grand Strand with heavy rain, storm surge, and relentless surf before making a second landfall near Myrtle Beach. Debby's pounding waves stripped away the remaining protective buffer, causing severe secondary erosion and leaving the coastline dangerously exposed.

Yet, the engineered beach performed exactly as designed. It absorbed the impacts. Following the storms, USACE determined emergency renourishment was necessary to restore the critical level of protection the beach provided before the waves washed it away.

Carter understands the devastation that these storms can cause from a personal level. When Hurricane Ian hit the coast in 2022, she was serving as a geographer with the Charleston District's survey team, tasked with walking the eroded shoreline and conducting the critical post-storm surveys. Little did she know that four years later, she would be leading the very project responsible for rebuilding the beaches she once mapped.

"Walking those eroded beaches after Hurricane Ian, I saw exactly how much damage a storm can do to our coastline," said Carter. "To go from measuring that loss as a geographer to now leading the team that puts the sand back is an incredibly rewarding, full-circle moment. It gives me a unique appreciation for every cubic yard we place, knowing firsthand just how vital this defense is to the Grand Strand."

Innovation on the Water

Restoring nearly 28 miles of coastline requires monumental machinery. The Charleston District awarded a $72 million construction contract to Houston-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. in 2024 to execute the emergency renourishment project.

Lt. Col. Todd Mainwaring, Charleston District commander, said the project was challenging but successful because of great partners. “Addressing where to source the sand and how to transport it was the core engineering challenge,” said. “We partnered with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., our dredging contractor, which staged specialized equipment offshore. Crews dredged compatible material from the ocean floor and pumped it through pipes directly onto the beach, where bulldozers spread it across the active surf to widen and heighten the shoreline.”

To complete the job, the crew deployed the newest vessel in their fleet: the Dredge Amelia Island.

Traditionally, dredging crews pump heavy, wet sand through about 5,000 feet of onshore pipeline. The Amelia Island shattered that limitation. Utilizing advanced booster pumps, the dredge pushed sand an incredible 15,000 feet down the pipeline. This innovation drastically limited disruptions for the public, reduced heavy equipment needs on the beach and allowed crews to complete the critical protective work faster.

"The Dredge Amelia Island represents a major leap forward in our operational capabilities," said Ed O’Dowd, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. senior site manager. "By using advanced booster pumps to push sand up to 15,000 feet, we minimized our equipment footprint on the beach. That meant fewer disruptions for the public and a much faster restoration of this essential coastal defense."

Moving Mountains

Crews worked around the clock to pull sand from the ocean floor and pump it back onto the shore. By the time workers disassembled the final pipe, they had placed more than 2.15 million cubic yards of sand across the South Carolina coastline.

“We are placing sand along 28 miles of beach to heighten and widen the shoreline,” said Mainwaring. “A better way to think of this work is as an engineered structure. We place sand to expand the beach and build a dune system that absorbs waves and wind from storms striking our coast each season.”

Spanning the Grand Strand coastline, the massive effort placed nearly 675,000 cubic yards across 8 miles in North Myrtle Beach, 850,000 cubic yards along 7.5 miles of Myrtle Beach, and 610,000 cubic yards across nearly 12 miles of Surfside Beach and Garden City.

To visualize that effort, imagine 215,000 standard 10-yard dump trucks moving that much sand. If drivers parked those trucks bumper-to-bumper, the line would stretch roughly 1,100 miles — the driving distance from Charleston, South Carolina, to nearly the Canadian border.

Protecting the Heart of the Coast

While a freshly renourished beach provides an inviting shoreline for tourists, coastal storm risk management remains the primary goal. Building a wider, higher beach and dune system creates a buffer that protects oceanfront roads, utilities and properties from catastrophic flooding and structural damage.

Mark Kruea, Myrtle Beach mayor, said beach renourishment is a critical investment in protecting the region. “A wider beach gives our community an important layer of protection from storms, while preserving the beach we all enjoy,” he said. “We’re grateful for our federal partners and their investment in protecting our coastline.”

This protection shields the economic lifeblood of the region. The Grand Strand ranks as one of South Carolina's largest economic drivers, contributing over $12 billion in tourism dollars to the economy. Furthermore, because USACE authorized this mission as an emergency response to storm damage, the federal government fully funded the $72 million cost. This saved local municipalities millions of dollars they can now invest back in their communities.

Johnny Gardner, Horry County Council chairman, said he was appreciative for the for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. and the many local partners on the success of the beach renourishment project along the Grand Strand. “The protection benefits of this project for our coastal communities will prove to be very beneficial should the next storm impact Horry County.”

Ready for the Next Wave

The Grand Strand Renourishment project progressed steadily down the coast this year. Crews finished sand placement in North Myrtle Beach Jan. 31. In Myrtle Beach, work began in May and concluded July 3. The final phase in Surfside Beach and Garden City kicked off July 3, and officially wrapped up Aug. 15.

Reflecting on the completion of the project, Mainwaring said the beach represents the front line between the built and natural environments. “Executing a project of this scale is a massive undertaking, but it is an essential investment that provides vital lines of defense to protect homes and communities along the Grand Strand.”

Carter echoed Mainwaring’s comments and said that the Grand Strand is whole again, ready to welcome millions of visitors, and more importantly, ready to hold the line against whatever the ocean sends its way next.

"Seeing this project reach the finish line is a testament to the dedication of our entire team and our partners," she said. "We started this mission with a clear goal: to restore the protective buffer that shields these communities. As we pack up the equipment, I look at these wide beaches and tall dunes and know they are fully prepared to do their job and stand strong against the next storm."

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