Lakes and Landscaping | Sit Back and Enjoy the Latest Update from Ocean Lakes

We are continuously updating our campground, whether that be our facilities or our grounds, and finding new ways to improve our guests’ experience. Our Operations Manager, Kevin, Landscaping and Grounds Manager, Sammy, and their teams have been working diligently on projects involving our lakes, fishing, and landscaping.

In this week’s blog, we are talking to Kevin and Sammy on the current status of those projects and how these projects will benefit our campground and our guests.

Let’s get started!

An Update From Our Operations Manager, Kevin |

Q: What lakes are being dredged, and why is this necessary?

A: Areas where the sediment has collected in Lake Magnolia and the connecting Swash Inlet and Outlet Channels are our primary target areas. Sediments collect from storm water drainage that flow throughout our property. The sediment buildup causes decreased flow and decreases lake and swash capacity. We are working with Horry County Storm Water to be as proactive as we can be as we prepare for the heavy rain events. 

Q: How long will the process take?

A: This will be a 4-week project and working out of the 2 selected and accessible Ocean Lakes locations, which are the bridge area off of Coral Drive and the lake access behind the Recreation Center. 

Q: What does that process look like?

A: The small pontoon size grinding rig will till up the heavy sediment areas and will pump the sandy sediment into a large mesh de-watering bag (similar to coffee in a coffee filter. Once the de-watering bag is full of wet material, it will take 3 to 4 weeks to fully de-water (the filtered water will funnel back into the lake). Then, the bag is cut, and the dry spoils are transported off-site. The equipment mobilization is quick (2 hours to set up), the crew is self-sufficient and will monitor the bag locations. The small grinding rig will stay anchored in the lakes until the dredging is complete, and the crew will boat to and from the rig daily.

An Update From Our Landscaping and Grounds Manager, Sammy |

Q: Your team has been working hard on rebuilding the landscaping in the campground, and it looks beautiful! We are noticing more and more palm trees being added. What lakes are having palm trees added, and what is the reasoning behind this new project?

A: We have added 5 more parking spots around Lake Sandlapper to give our guests more room to fish. Before they only had the north side of the lake because of all the cars parked along the bulkhead. That will be the same for Sand Dollar Lake. We have put 6 golf car pads around that lake. Palm trees were added at Sandlapper as part of the new landscaping. There will be no palms added to Sand Dollar Lake.  
  

Q: We have been recycling Christmas trees - What purpose will the Christmas trees serve?

A: The purpose of the Christmas trees is to provide a habitat for the fish. Fish depend on habitats to survive and reproduce. There will be 5 clusters of 3 trees in front of every golf cart parking pad.    

Q: How does this and the dredging help the fish population in our lakes?

A: After the dredging is done, we are looking to add material for bedding for the fish, which is where the Christmas trees come into play. This will give them an area to reproduce. Hopefully, we can use some of the sand from that project. This will go in front of the golf car pads, as well. Once these areas are complete, we will stock the ponds with mostly bass and bream.

Until Next Time | We hope you all love the new landscaping and we wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip in one our lakes. Catch ya’ll later, Ocean Lakes!