South Carolina and Georgia shut out of Federal funds for Intracoastal; Florida’s FIND picks up slack

South Carolina and Georgia Face Dredging Problems

Locals take action on ICW dredging problem

Date Reported: May 30, 2014
AIWW Mile: 430.0
Reported by: Mike Ahart, News Editor
If the federal government won’t pay to maintain the ICW in South Carolina, and the State won’t help either, municipalities can either suffer the consequences or do something about it.

And that’s exactly what the members of the Charleston County Council did last night – they voted to pledge $500,000 in matching funds over the next two years to dredge and maintain the waterway, which they consider “an economic driver for our community.”

But isn’t that a mere shovelful of the estimated $5-million-plus needed just to fix a few trouble spots, much less regain and maintain a 12-foot MLW project depth for the 90 miles of ICW that run through the county?

“It’s a great starting point,” said Brad Pickel, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) Executive Director, who has championed this cause on every level of government. In February, the AIWA had ten meetings with Congressional members and staff to discuss the needs of the ICW from Virginia to Florida. Courtesy, Waterway Guide.