The city of North Myrtle Beach is budgeting about $34.5 million for water and sewer projects which will fund transmission line improvements for drinking water, and sewer line and pump station upgrades.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e big dollar items,鈥 said North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley.
The tentative 2026 budget shows $30 million budgeted for water transmission improvements and a Myrtle Beach water transmission line.
鈥淭here鈥檚 two water transmission improvements,鈥 public works director Kevin Blayton explained. 鈥淥ne of them is in North Myrtle Beach. That is a project that is partially funded by a grant we have from the state. That鈥檚 an $18 million dollar total project cost. $10 million of that is funded by the state.鈥
Also budgeted is $1.3 million for sewer line and pump station upgrades.
Four million dollars is budgeted to bury utility lines. Don鈥檛 expect that to transform the city skyline, though. During a presentation made at the city鈥檚 budget retreat, it was said that it costs $1 million per block to bury overhead utility lines. The city will also continue its work converting stormwater pipes that drain onto the beach into stormwater outfall pipes.
鈥淭hose are all continuing programs. Those are programs that have been active in the city for 25 years,鈥 Blayton said. 鈥淪o they鈥檙e ongoing programs, we are just expanding those to different parts of the city. We鈥檙e completing one stormwater outfall and we鈥檒l be starting another stormwater outfall. Doing some long delayed improvements in the Palmetto Shores neighborhood that has an undersized drainiage system that鈥檚 left over from DOT road paving.鈥
Ocean outfalls are large stormwater pipes that allocate stormwater from several blocks and discharge hundreds of feet into the ocean. Outfall pipes improve the quality of the ocean water where beachgoers wade and also improve flooding.
The city of North Myrtle Beach has a long-term plan to replace all the stormwater pipes draining onto the beach into ocean outfalls.
Blayton said $1.5 million is budgeted in fiscal year 2026 for the city鈥檚 share of design work for the next outfall project.
The proposed $221.3 million budget for the 2026 fiscal year is a record high for the city. The budget has no property tax increase and will need to be voted on by city council at two city council meetings. The 2026 fiscal year begins July 1.
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