South Strand receiving $16 million to replace sand lost during Hurricane Joaquin

The Grand Strand will receive $16 million in emergency federal funding to replace the sand lost during Hurricane Joaquin, officials said Tuesday.

The money is coming from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will be used to assist the South Strand, including Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach and a small portion of Georgetown County.

During the October storm, those areas lost an estimated 200,000 yards of sand or more than 13,300 dump truck loads, officials said.

“The beaches have just been depleted,” said Horry County Councilman Tyler Servant, whose district includes the South Strand.

Servant learned the federal assistance had been approved Tuesday and expressed gratitude for the leaders who worked to secure the money.

“The beaches on the South Strand are the most important asset Horry County has,” he said. “It’s the reason why tourism is so important to our area and it’s the reason we have so many people moving to our county.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, said that before the funding was allocated, the area wasn’t scheduled to receive additional sand until 2018.

“My team and I worked tirelessly to move the timetable forward,” Rice said in a news release. “We worked with the Army Corps to expedite the assessment of the damages and required reviews to ensure we met the Army Corps’ deadline today. While these funds will not replace all eroded sand, this funding shows a commitment to the project, and we expect and will continue to fight for additional investment in the future.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 11:00 PM with the headline "South Strand receiving $16 million to replace sand lost during Hurricane Joaquin."