Community effort needed to rebuild Hilton Head sand dunes

Community volunteers, rather than town government, will have to rebuild the sand dunes destroyed by Hurricane Matthew on Hilton Head Island, town staff said Wednesday, including providing the supplies needed to do so.

“The town has no budget or supplies for this project,” town manager Steve Riley said.

That community effort is not a new approach, he said.

“I remember I was out there planting and fencing as a community service when my kids were in Scout groups years ago,” Riley said. “We are really hoping we can find some community volunteers to do a lot of this again.”

The installation of sand fencing and planting of sea oats is the best way to regrow the dunes, Riley said. He said the town has an outlined plan for where the rebuilding should occur.

“There is a proper way to lay the sand fencing out,” Riley said. “We have drawings to help folks do that.”

The need is islandwide, but some areas have more damage than others, Riley said. He said that includes any area that was recently renourished by the town — South Beach, Coligny Beach to Singleton Beach, and Port Royal Plantation and Fish Hall Creek to Mitchelville Beach Park.

It takes two to three years before sand accumulates enough to bury fencing and create dunes between one to three feet high, Riley said. He said, once that occurs, there will need to be another effort to grow a second dune row.

Prior to Hurricane Matthew, much of the island had multiple dune rows that were up to five or six feet high.

Amy Hall, of Ohio, noticed that the dunes looked different while visiting the beach on vacation this week.

“We previously had family pictures taken with the dunes,” Hall said Wednesday while visiting Coligny Beach. “This doesn’t look like the same beach to me.”

Hall said she was initially confused by the change. She said someone later explained it was because of Hurricane Matthew.

The destruction of the dunes is more than just obvious. It worries some locals.

Andrew Shumacher, CEO of Palmetto Dunes, said the dunes are the first line of defense against storm surges.

“You can see significant portions of the dunes in our community are gone,” Schumacher said. “These dunes protect first-row homes that drive property values for the entire island.”

Palmetto Dunes staff and community members are prepared and ready to help the town rebuild the dune system, Schumacher said.

“This is obviously very important not just for Palmetto Dunes but the entire island,” Schumacher said.

Riley said it is possible the town could still hire contractors to rebuild the dunes if volunteers don’t come forward. He said town staff has not reviewed the process to know what the costs would be.

The town’s first concern is repairing beach erosion on South Beach from Hurricane Matthew, Riley said.

An estimated 250,000 cubic yards of sand washed away along a mile stretch on South Beach, putting dozens of homes at risk in Sea Pines. The town is currently moving through the state permitting processes to repair the section.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Community effort needed to rebuild Hilton Head sand dunes."