City of Myrtle Beach to receive $30 million for upcoming deepwater outfall project
Myrtle Beach will receive $30 million from the State of South Carolina to pay for the upcoming 24th Avenue North deepwater ocean outfall project. The funding was included in this year’s state budget, approved by the General Assembly. The 24th Avenue North project includes installation of dual 84-inch pipes to serve 208 acres of drainage basin. Bids on construction are expected to be received next spring, with work beginning in September 2023. The project should be complete by April 2025, at which time 11 existing drainage pipes will be removed from the beach.
The project will occur in two phases. The seaward phase will begin first, with installation of dual outfall pipes from the west side of Ocean Boulevard. The 84-inch-diameter pipes will run under the 24th Avenue North street end, under the beach and approximately 1,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean. The landward phase includes installation of lateral header pipes along the boulevard, along with other improvements needed to capture overflow from the existing stormwater pond at the former Myrtle Square Mall site.
In 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized the City of Myrtle Beach as part of the EPA’s program to celebrate innovation in clean water infrastructure. Since the late 1990s, the city has invested more than $75 million in stormwater management projects, including four existing deepwater ocean outfalls, at 25th Avenue South, Fourth Avenue North, 14th Avenue North and 53rd Avenue North. The term “stormwater” describes rainfall that flows across impervious surfaces and into drainage structures. Ultimately, rainfall travels either to the Atlantic Ocean or the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.