Dramatic shift in tidal channel near Folly, Singleton beaches from natural causes
A dramatic shift in a channel near Folly Field and Singleton beaches on Hilton Head Island that recently caught the attention of neighbors isn't a cause for alarm, but may require a new channel to be cut when the town's renourishment project reaches the area, a town official said Wednesday.
Singleton Beach resident John Hallquist said the channel's shift south since November is the most drastic he's seen in his 14 years on Hilton Head Island -- as did town director of public projects and facilities Scott Liggett, who said the mouth of the inlet is the furthest south he has seen it.
Liggett said sand moving across the face of the beach from north to south drove the inlet mouth to the south, giving the channel a seemingly unusual path, but it is not a cause for concern.
"It's just part of the life of an inlet," Liggett said. "It's as far south as I have seen it, but the channel historically wobbles around due to sand supply."
Hallquist said he and other Singleton Beach residents have been aware of the channel moving south since November, but it didn't raise any concerns, just interest in its drifiting path.
Hilton Head beach renourishment to begin March 1
The meandering waterway could require some work when the town's beach renourishment project reaches the area later this year if the inlet does not move.
Preparations for the beach renourishment will begin in February and pumping of sand is expected to start on March 1, Liggett said. The last of the sand in the project's final segment near Port Royal Plantation is expected to be filled by mid- to late June, he said.
The $20.7 million project will place more than 2 million cubic yards of new sand on four segments of the island's iconic beaches to restore nearly a decade's worth of natural erosion.
If the mouth of the inlet stays in its current location, it will be inside one of the areas designated for renourishment, requiring the town to seek permission to cut a new channel, Liggett said.
If it begins to meander back to the north, it will likely move out of that area and will be unaffected.
"It's just natural evolution," he said. "Meanders come and go."
Follow reporter Matt McNab on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
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This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Dramatic shift in tidal channel near Folly, Singleton beaches from natural causes."