Watershed Special Characteristics and/or Features of the Intracoastal Waterway

 

Watershed Special Characteristics and/or Features:

Intracoastal Waterway, Socastee, South Carolina

Photo: Google Earth

Photo: Google Earth

Agriculture: There isn't agriculture in this area of the Intracoastal Waterway. There is a natural area called the Waccamaw Refuge to the west of my location.

Forestry: There is a natural area that is protected west of my location. The natural area is state and federally-protected. Many different species of flora and fauna are located here that are federally endangered. The Nature Conservancy has bought some land called Sandy Island which is located southwest of my location due to the endangered species.

Photo: Google Earth

Grazing: There is a small grazing area of land for horses located half of a mile from my location. The land is around 8 acres east of my location. This land borders two subdivisions and will not be sold to developers.

Photo: Google Earth

Mining: No mining is in this area. The geographic area is located at sea level.

Recreation: Water recreation is huge around this area. Water skiing, water tubing, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing are some of the activities many locals and visitors do while visiting or living along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Municipal water supply: The water supply comes from the city water company. Grand Strand Water and Sewer is made up of several water systems across Horry and Georgetown counties. Grand Strand Water and Sewer created a report that goes into depth about the government entity. It can be found here: https://www.gswsa.com/gswsa_public_site/userfiles/file/GSWSA%202040%20Plan%20-%20Final%20Copy%20-%2011-18-2021.pdf

Urbanization/stormwater management: Urbanization is very active here. The Socastee region is exploding in growth. New housing developments are being built daily. Stormwater management needs to be revisited due to the explosion of growth in the area. The area that I chose to study is in my back yard and, it floods twice a year depending on rainfall, hurricanes, and other natural occurrences. In Feb/March of 2021, we received 5 ft of water around us due to a massive rain storm that swept across several states.

The flood caused a massive amount of damage for several months.  Flooding does occur and will continue to occur until governments come in and buys property to ensure no development is done to them.  FEMA has bought some property and ensured that this won't happen; however, many properties is still left with homes on them.