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Port Royal Sound largely healthy but tidal creeks showing early decline, presenter tells Beaufort County board
Summary
Courtney Kimmel of the Port Royal Sound Foundation told the Stormwater Management Utility Board on April 8 that the estuary remains “pretty healthy” overall but that data show early signs of deterioration in some tidal creeks; the foundation is expanding volunteer monitoring using state‑approved protocols.
Courtney Kimmel, a representative of the Port Royal Sound Foundation, told the Stormwater Management Utility Board on April 8 that the Port Royal Sound estuary is “pretty healthy relative to other watersheds, but it is changing and it’s especially changing in some of the tidal creeks.” The presentation focused on recent monitoring, indicators and a volunteer monitoring program the foundation has developed with state approval.
Kimmel said the foundation’s review of CCAP data from 2022 and subsequent analyses use an aggregate index of habitat, sediments and water quality to compare areas across the Sound. She told board members the index shows the open water areas remain in better condition while some tidal creeks are showing more yellow and “a tiny bit of the red,” a signal of declining conditions that the foundation will continue to watch.
The presenter described the watershed as about 1,500 square miles, covering most of Beaufort County, and said the foundation is analyzing conditions at the HUC‑12 scale across 37 hydrologic units up to Allendale to improve spatial resolution. Kimmel said those smaller watershed units act like “neighborhoods” for hydrology and can reveal local changes faster than broader measures.
Kimmel outlined five categories the foundation uses to assess estuary health—water quality, land cover, marsh dynamics, habitat and biodiversity—and said resilience planning focuses on how to respond to both manageable and unavoidable changes. “What you’re trying to do is keep pace, right, and understand when things are changing and how can we prevent degradation,” she said.
On program design, Kimmel said the foundation worked with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to create a state‑approved water‑quality monitoring protocol that trains volunteers to use YSI meters and coordinates lab support with the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) lab. The program received approval in March of the prior year and volunteer training has begun, she said.
Kimmel closed by offering to take questions and provide additional detail; the board proceeded to its next agenda items following the presentation.
