Myrtle Beach Stormwater Requirements: Property Owner Guide

Myrtle Beach property owners deal with stormwater compliance on three tracks: a monthly Stormwater Utility Fee billed per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU), city code requiring owners to keep drainage clear and buildings elevated in flood zones, and the broader MS4/NPDES permitting system that the state (SCDES) layers over the city and over Horry County separately. None of these is optional, and all three show up in a typical property manager’s budget and maintenance calendar. If your property sits in unincorporated Horry County rather than inside city limits, a fourth layer, the county’s own stormwater ordinance, applies instead of (or alongside) the city’s rules.

What is the Myrtle Beach stormwater fee right now?

The city charges a Stormwater Utility Fee based on ERUs, and that rate has climbed steadily over the past several years. Council voted in May 2023 to raise the rate from $9.30 to $11.35 per ERU per month, a $2.05 increase tied to a 2021 rate study that found existing revenue wasn’t covering operating costs and capital projects like the ocean outfall work described below. That followed an earlier increase in the 2021-22 budget year, when the rate moved to $7.63 per ERU after a $1.38 jump, so the pattern here is multi-year and upward, not a one-time adjustment.

A single-family home is billed at one ERU. Everything else, commercial buildings, golf courses, shopping centers, HOA common areas, gets billed differently: the city takes 80% of a property’s total impervious area and divides it by 5,000 to calculate ERUs. That formula means a property’s bill is tied to how much hard surface it has, not its assessed value. For a commercial site with a large parking lot or a golf course superintendent managing cart paths and clubhouse roofs, that’s real money, and it means reducing impervious area or adding infiltration features can lower the monthly bill, not just satisfy a permit condition.

Why does impervious area drive the fee this way?

The city’s logic, laid out when the fee structure was adopted, is that stormwater costs are a function of runoff, and runoff is a function of paved and roofed surface, not property value. A property with a 2-acre parking lot generates far more runoff than a similarly valued property with a small footprint and a lot of green space, so it pays more into the system that handles that runoff.

Who is responsible for maintaining stormwater structures?

Under the city’s Stormwater Facility Maintenance Request Policy, approved January 22, 2019, the City of Myrtle Beach generally maintains public stormwater control structures and open-channel conveyance systems, but private ponds and drainage built as part of an HOA or commercial development usually stay the owner’s responsibility unless the city formally takes them over. Getting the city to assume maintenance isn’t automatic. An HOA or group of property owners has to demonstrate at least 75% agreement among property owners abutting the stormwater control structure, then dedicate the facility to the city by deed along with record drawings showing exactly what’s being handed over.

That’s a meaningful bar. It means most private ponds, swales, and detention basins inside gated communities and commercial developments along the Grand Strand stay on the owner’s books for inspection, sediment removal, and structural repair indefinitely, unless the HOA board actively pursues dedication. If your community hasn’t gone through that process, assume you’re on the hook. A BMP maintenance agreement on file with the county or city will tell you exactly what’s required and how often.

City code also puts a direct obligation on every owner and occupant: remove obstructions from the drainage system on your own property. That’s not a suggestion tied to a specific inspection cycle; it’s a standing code requirement, and it’s the kind of thing a routine site walk catches before it becomes a flooding complaint.

What are the flood elevation requirements for buildings?

New residential structures in the regulatory floodplain must be elevated no less than three feet above base flood elevation, and that standard applies to the lowest floor as well as mechanical and electrical equipment. This isn’t just a building code preference. Without these elevation and drainage provisions in place, properties in flood zones would lose access to flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which matters to owners, renters, and lenders alike.

For property managers overseeing older buildings near the floodplain boundary, this is worth a second look during any renovation or equipment replacement. Moving an HVAC condenser or electrical panel during a remodel is a cheap moment to bring it up to the three-foot standard, compared to doing it as a standalone retrofit later.

How does the 24th Avenue North outfall project affect my property?

If your property sits near 24th Avenue North or along the beachfront in that part of the city, expect ongoing construction impacts through early 2026 as the city finishes its $42.6 million ocean outfall project. The project is replacing 11 aging beach storm drain pipes with two 84-inch pipes extending 1,500 feet into the ocean, construction started around August 2024, and as of March 2025 the project remained on schedule for completion by early 2026, per WMBF News and stormwater.com. The state is covering most of the cost, with South Carolina contributing $30 million plus proviso funding that grew to $6.8 million as of March 2025, which tells you the state sees this as a priority drainage fix, not a routine city maintenance item.

For oceanfront hotels, HOAs, and commercial properties near the work zone, that means periodic beach access closures and construction activity through completion. It also means downstream drainage capacity for that stretch of beach should improve once the new pipes are in service, which is worth factoring into any long-term flood risk assessment for properties in that corridor.

Does Horry County have separate stormwater rules?

Yes. Properties outside Myrtle Beach city limits but still along the Grand Strand fall under Horry County’s own stormwater ordinance and design manual, not the city’s fee structure or maintenance policy. The county was designated under Phase II of the federal NPDES stormwater program, established its first stormwater ordinance and utility fee back in 2000, and most recently updated its Stormwater Management Design Manual in January 2024, per the Horry County Stormwater Advisory Board fact sheet. If you manage a portfolio that spans both city and unincorporated county parcels, don’t assume one compliance checklist covers everything. Permitting for new construction, pond design, and drainage review runs through county staff for county parcels and through the city for city parcels, and the standards aren’t identical.

This also matters if your portfolio extends beyond the Myrtle Beach area. MS4 permit terms vary by jurisdiction even among South Carolina coastal cities, and if you also hold property in Georgia, that state runs its MS4 permits on a separate renewal cycle entirely, with Phase I permits reissued in June 2024 and Phase II permits reissued back in November 2022. Each jurisdiction needs its own compliance tracking; don’t assume a Georgia renewal date tells you anything about where South Carolina stands.

What should property managers check right now?

Run through this list at least once a year, and sooner if you’re near the outfall construction zone or coming up on a lease renewal that touches mechanical equipment:

• Confirm your current ERU count and fee against the city’s impervious area calculation, especially after any paving or building addition.
• Check whether your community’s private stormwater facilities have been dedicated to the city, or whether you’re still carrying maintenance responsibility.
• Walk the property for drainage obstructions on sidewalks, swales, and catch basins; this is a standing code requirement, not an annual-only item.
• If you’re near the floodplain boundary, confirm mechanical and electrical equipment meets the three-foot elevation standard before your next NFIP renewal.
• Verify whether your parcel falls under city or Horry County jurisdiction, since that determines which fee schedule and design manual apply.
• If you manage ponds or detention basins, confirm your pond inspection frequency matches what your maintenance agreement requires.

AUE Land Can Help

AUE Land handles stormwater management, storm drainage, and compliance work for HOAs, commercial properties, and golf courses along the Grand Strand, and we show up with our own equipment instead of subcontracting the fix. If you’re not sure whether your property’s drainage system is keeping you compliant with city or Horry County requirements, start with a free site assessment and we’ll walk the property with you and tell you exactly where you stand.