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Beaufort County stormwater staff launches Bay Pines analysis, orders Shell Point drainage redo
Summary
Staff told the Stormwater Utility Board on Dec. 11 that a new hydraulic drainage analysis is underway for Bay Pines, an RFQ will be issued to redo Shell Point’s drainage study, and several neighborhood projects and a USDA NRCS grant-backed restoration are moving forward; final funding amounts were not yet available.
Beaufort County stormwater staff on Dec. 11 told the Stormwater Utility Board they have issued a task order for a comprehensive drainage analysis of Bay Pines and will release an RFQ to redo a deficient Shell Point drainage study.
The update, delivered by stormwater staffer Miss Brewer, centered on projects prompted by flooding after Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debbie and on correcting gaps in earlier studies. "We have issued a new task order for Wolpert to complete a drainage analysis of this area that will allow us to come up with upgrade recommendations, with sound hydraulic modeling for a background," Miss Brewer said. "We're hoping that this will not be a piecemeal solution. We are looking to make sure that the problems in this area don't continue for the foreseeable future."
Why it matters: staff said recent storms exposed shortcomings in some earlier studies and that comprehensive hydraulic modeling will be used to generate durable upgrade recommendations rather than piecemeal repairs. The Bay Pines analysis will use modeling shared by Hilton Head staff and is intended to produce coordinated recommendations across jurisdictions.
Staff gave a timeline and next steps: procurement set interviews next week to select the firm for the AllJoy comprehensive drainage study and the county plans a public meeting early next year to announce the selected firm and a community point of contact. For Shell Point, staff said the county will issue an RFQ "first of the year" to redo the drainage study because the original model omitted some watershed contributions. On the Okeetee River Park passive-park project, staff said a task order was issued to redesign a pond dam so a pathway can be built safely.
The board also heard about neighborhood-scale efforts: Tuxedo Park work is at a close-out stage, Hickory Hill had a single bid and county procurement is performing price verification before presenting the item to the Jan. PFC, and staff are investigating Royal Pines complaints tied in part to DOT-owned assets (a clogged culvert was cited). On the Arthur Horn project, staff said they have verbal confirmation of a USDA NRCS grant but are still completing federal paperwork and do not yet have a final funding amount.
Board members pressed staff about coordination with local municipalities; Miss Brewer said the county is "in close contact with town of Fulton and Head staff" and will meet again after consultants return recommendations. She also confirmed the county plans to select multiple on-call A&E firms next year to improve price verification under new procurement standards.
The projects update closed with procedural next steps—firm interviews, task-order issuance and presentations to council or PFC where required. Staff provided no final dollar totals for pending grant-funded projects and said federal approvals remain outstanding for the USDA-supported work.
The board is expected to receive more detailed procurement notices and a community meeting announcement early next year.
