Murrells Inlet channel voters oppose dredging project tax increase

MURRELLS INLET, SC (WBTW) – People who live along a shallow channel voted down a plan to dredge that waterway.

Twenty out of 29, or about 69 percent, of voters said no to a tax referendum, according to unofficial results from Georgetown County. The county’s election board says the results will be certified at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The tax hike for those residents would have funded a $7 million dredging project from Marlin Quay Marina to the causeway in Garden City Beach. Some people there say the channel is too shallow for boats to navigate, even when it’s not low tide.

The Horry County election board says 27 residents along the channel can vote on their own tax referendum on primary day, which is June 12.