Officials with Georgetown County and the City of Georgetown will come together this month to hear a report from engineers examining potential solutions for silting of the Georgetown Harbor.
The report will be presented at 5 p.m. June 14 at Howard Auditorium, 1610 Hawkins St. Representatives from GEL Engineering will review the firm’s recent study of the harbor and offer recommendations on what can be done to resolve the issue in a sustainable way.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend the presentation and will be allowed to ask questions.
Commissioned in 2018, the first phase of the study was conducted by Coastal Carolina University. The central goal of the study was to determine ways to prevent silt from accumulating at such a fast rate in the Georgetown Harbor. County and City officials wanted a more sustainable and affordable solution than repeated dredging. After initial findings from the University were presented in early 2020, an engineering aspect was added for phase 2 of the study and GEL became involved.
Among the various solutions discussed in 2020 were deflection walls, restoring the harbor to its natural state and methods that would also assist in flood protection. The goal would be to allow the Georgetown Harbor to continue operating as a working waterfront. Solving the silting problem would impact numerous businesses including commercial seafood, tourism and marinas, as well as recreational boating.