The authority announced the program’s launch in a May statement, in which it said it would award $29 million in grants for infrastructure-improvement projects in 16 SC counties, including four in the Pee Dee.

Alex Clark, deputy director of communications at SC Department of Commerce, said in an email interview that Olanta and McCormick County are the first selected participants for the program, adding, as a pilot, the viability improvement program “is being implemented on a smaller scale but designed to address common industry standards.”

The program provides smaller utilities direct technical aid, as well as the potential for funding down the road to bolster long-term viability, according to Clark.

“Support is delivered through three sequential steps that assess a utility’s managerial, financial and technical needs; develop actionable recommendations; and fund the most critical capital improvements,” Clark said, adding that the steps call for local commitment, which determines continuation to the next step.

He said candidates must demonstrate some concern about viability, such as regulatory compliance, aging infrastructure, or financial and socioeconomic challenges based on census or American Community Surveys data.

Olanta Mayor Michael Welch said the program “allows small towns — Olanta is a small town — to come up with a viability plan for water and wastewater options ... Most small towns don’t have viability programs in place to sustain their assets.

“This program is supposed to guide the recipient in a direction that will help you become more independent and survive, should you have an asset failure,” Welch said. “Across the state it’s becoming harder and harder to do. If you had to do it without grant money, it would be near impossible to do.”

Welch said that, at this stage, there is no grant money coming in and that the viability improvement program mainly provides assistance in the form of engineering assessment of their water system to identify potential failures down the road, “things we need to look at now in order to sustain us in the future,” he said.

Clark said completion of all three steps of the program is expected to take about three years.

According to Welch, Olanta is currently in the first step, earmarked by “rapid assessment” of information such as maps of water and sewer assets, data on water usage and wastewater, and income and expenses. He said, “They will crush through all that data and present a plan to Town Council in mid-October for things that need to be taken care of in the short, medium and long terms.” The authority had set a deadline for July 2, he said.

He said that after July, consultants would be “physically coming in and laying eyes” on the town’s water assets.

“The second part will be an actual study of the entire system, water and sewer,” Welch said. “There, they will find where your problems are.”

Clark said that once participants in the program complete the first two steps and have exhibited “evidence of satisfactory progress on implementing resulting recommendations, utilities may be selected to receive grant funding to support the most critical capital improvements based on study recommendations.

"Completion of the full program is dependent on the utility’s ability to commit to and implement necessary changes, as well as availability of RIA funding, Clark said.

Welch said in the third step, Olanta “could possibly apply for some grants for the repairs that are needed for the short term.”

Owing to its status as a pilot program, Clark said “the RIA team will continually assess both the process and project performance [of the viability improvement program] and make adjustments as necessary.”

For Olanta, the program could be a game changer. “I think, long term, it will give us the ability to sustain our water and sewer system,” Welch said. “We’ve been in a financial quandary for years ... We’re living paycheck to paycheck. I’m hoping this will give us the ability to sustain our water and sewer system in the future.

“I think what it will do for the people on Olanta’s rural water system — it will ease their minds that one major failure is not going to stop everything from working. I think water is one of those things everyone takes for granted. I think this will help us ensure that it will always be there.”

Welch said he is excited about participating in the program. “I’m glad they chose us as one of the places to test this program. I hope other small towns can benefit from what we learn about through our endeavor here.”

“Olanta is one of those old farming towns trying to survive,” he said. He explained that the January 2025 closure of the IGA grocery store, 213 N. Jones Road, came as a blow not only to the town, but also local business. When people have to take their grocery shopping to another town, they tend to bring their pharmacy and banking business with them, he said.

“Every day, you’re just trying to survive,” he said. "Olanta’s still a good place to raise a family."

More information about the viability improvement program, including eligibility requirements, can be found on the authority’s website.