MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The City of Myrtle Beach will host a two-day meeting to work with residents on ways to be more prepared in the event of a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Matthew.“Part of the goal of the meeting this week is to find out what’s the next step,” said planner for the City of Myrtle Beach, Allison Harden. “What are some areas we might need to look at and what are some alternatives to upgrading our stormwater plan.”
The city wants to hear from residents about what problem areas they see around the community so the city can work to address those issues.
One of the main objectives is to continue installing outfalls across the city. Outfalls are drainage systems that filter out stormwater through natural processes and dumps the water back into the ocean 1,000 feet away from shore.
Because of the large amounts of water during flooding, there are large amounts of water that can be contaminated, which is why the outfalls are necessary in places that are likely to flood.
“That would provide stormwater that goes under the road and under the beach floor out 1,000 feet away from the shore so that the pipes are not distributing stormwater directly onto the beach,” explains Harden.
Harden says two top priority areas needing an outfall system are 24th Ave. North and 70th Ave. North. They are next on the city’s list to be completed.
The workshop is designed to develop ways to prevent damage to people’s homes and other property and to ultimately save lives.
The meeting takes place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot.
