No more holes: Horry County bans digging on the beaches
If your favorite beach day activity happens to be digging large holes in the sand, Horry County leaders have said you’re out of luck.
At its regular meeting Tuesday, the county council gave a key approval to an ordinance that would ban beach-goers from digging holes larger than 2 feet deep in the sands along the county’s 14 miles of public beaches.
The move, according to the legislation, is meant to prevent people from injuring themselves and to keep wildlife safe. Large holes in the sand can be deadly to young and adult sea turtles, for example.
The move also follows other coastal South Carolina municipalities that have taken similar steps in recent months and years. The City of Myrtle Beach outlawed the digging of large holes earlier this year, and the town of Surfside Beach followed suit in August. Hilton Head banned large holes back in 2019, and Kiawah Island warned against the practice in 2020.
Becky Ryon, the north coast office director for the Coastal Conservation League and a proponent of the new ordinance, said her organization supported the measure because large holes are a public safety issue.
“People who are just walking along the beach and step in a hole could turn their ankle,” she said. “Also for our wildlife, especially sea turtles, (holes) could pose as a hazard.”
The measure passed unanimously and faces one final vote of approval in two weeks, which is likely to pass after little debate over the issue.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
