York Secures $1.1M Grant for Critical Infrastructure

RIA awards construction grants to upgrade critical infrastructure

$23 million in grant funding awarded across South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C.— The S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved grant assistance for 21 projects, totaling approximately $23 million, to address critical infrastructure needs related to public health, water quality and resiliency, while also improving capacity for economic opportunities. These projects will benefit more than 30,000 customers in 15 counties across the state.

“These grants will improve infrastructure that is key to ensuring affordable basic services for residents and supporting economic prosperity,” RIA Executive Director Bonnie Ammons said. “Such investments will help local communities thrive.”

All 21 grants support capital improvements that will upgrade aging or undersized water mains, rehabilitate or replace aging sewer lines, improve sewer pump stations and treatment plants and enhance or expand stormwater drains and culverts. Some are designed to enhance infrastructure capacity or facilitate job creation for new and existing businesses.

RIA collaborates with local communities and other partners to maximize the impact of state grant dollars. The RIA grant awards will be combined with more than $28 million in local and other funds to carry out the proposed water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure projects.

These state grants are generally awarded twice a year through a competitive process that considers the need for improved public health, environmental protection, community sustainability and economic development.

Applications are selected by the RIA board based on criteria including severity of the problem, expected impact and project feasibility. Recipients share in the cost of infrastructure projects by paying for non-construction or other activities and, oftentimes, providing additional funds for construction.

A list of grant recipients for the first round of competitive grants for fiscal year 2026, awarded Nov. 17, 2025, is below. The application deadline for the second grant round is March 23, 2026. To learn more about RIA or how to apply for grant assistance, visit www.ria.sc.gov.

Grantee	County	Award Amount
Allendale County	Allendale	$750,000
Andrews, Town of	Georgetown	$237,413
Belton-Honea Path Water Authority	Anderson	$461,250
Charleston, City of	Charleston	$1,500,000
Cherokee County/Goucher Water Company	Cherokee	$1,260,000
Clemson, City of	Pickens	$943,909
Darlington, City of	Darlington	$957,000
Elloree Water System	Orangeburg	$1,435,500
Georgetown, City of	Georgetown	$1,500,000
Goose Creek, City of	Berkeley	$500,000
Kershaw County and Lee County Regional Water Authority	Kershaw	$1,500,000
Lugoff-Elgin Water Authority	Kershaw	$1,500,000
Moncks Corner, Town of	Berkeley	$1,205,970
North Charleston Sewer District	Charleston	$1,500,000
Rural Community Water District of Georgetown County	Georgetown	$1,500,000
Society Hill, Town of	Darlington	$225,340
Union, City of	Union	$1,500,000
Ware Shoals, Town of	Greenwood	$1,500,000
Westminster, City of	Oconee	$594,000
Woodruff Roebuck Water District	Spartanburg	$1,500,000
York, City of	York	$1,141,090

About S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority

The S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) was created to help communities with financing for qualified infrastructure projects. Infrastructure primarily refers to water and wastewater systems as well as stormwater drainage. Chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, the RIA is governed by a board of directors, including six members who reside in or represent distressed and/or least developed counties.

www.SCcommerce.com

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