SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — A creek popular with kayakers and boaters has filled with silt, making the tributary that connects to the Intracoastal Waterway a short distance from Charleston Harbor nearly impossible to use at low tide, residents told a town committee this month. Town leaders are considering a project to dredge the creek to clear out the built-up sediment and deepen the waterway.
Although the town is widely known for its quiet, clean beaches, the rear of the island facing Mount Pleasant features a network of tidal creeks and marshes, with the ICW running through them.
Cove Creek is a 1.5 mile-long waterway on the back side of Sullivan’s Island. Marsh-front homes and public and private docks line the banks of the creek, providing direct access to the water.
COVE CREEK DREDGING CONSIDERED: The town of Sullivan’s Island is discussing dredging this 1.5 mile creek due to silt build up. (Source: Esri)
But lately, residents have noticed the creek seems more shallow, making it more difficult to launch their boats or swim in the water.
Dredging the creek would restore it to its former condition, according to a handful of homeowners who urged the town to take up the matter at the town’s Land Use and Natural Resources Committee on July 29.
Scott Greene, a resident and recreational kayaker, told the committee that he used to access the water at the launch point near Station 19 Street. At low tide, he said using the launch site was nearly impossible.
“That’s become more challenging,” Greene told the committee. “It’s very difficult to kind of get in and out.”
Dredging is the process of removing sediment from the bottom of bodies of water, sometimes to deepen a channel for improved navigation.
Charleston Harbor was deepened to 52 feet in 2022 to accommodate larger ships coming into the port. The work made the harbor the deepest on the East Coast.
Dredging also can be a method to get compatible sand to renourish eroded beaches.
The Army Corps last year dredged the Folly River and placed the sand onto Folly Beach. That work wrapped up last October.
But silt and sand can be pumped from waterways for other reasons, too, said Dylan Burnell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District, the permitting authority for this type of work.
“Dredging for recreational or other non-federal purposes can be permitted, provided it meets all applicable federal environmental and regulatory requirements,” Burnell said.
Cove Creek’s silty buildup has been growing for years, Town Administrator Joe Henderson said. Dredging the creek has been part of the town’s comprehensive plan for years. As it stands, the shoaling in Cove Creek is not a navigational hazard, but it does impact the recreational use of the water, he said.
“One thing that we’ve had probably for the past 20 years in our comprehensive plan is … the possibility of dredging out Cove Creek,” Henderson said.
Attempts to dredge the creek have been made before.
A public notice published in The News and Courier on Aug. 23, 1988, alerted residents that the town applied for a permit to dredge Cove Creek from the South Carolina Coastal Council, a predecessor to the state’s Bureau of Coastal Management.
“The town ultimately didn’t move forward with the project for one reason or another,” Henderson said, adding that leaders now will consider the issue anew.
The full town council will discuss the possibility of dredging the creek at their workshop meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 4.