Like many areas in the Upstate, the service area for Easley Combined Utilities (ECU) is made up of mill villages, many of which were established 100 years ago, by owners of the local textile company. The mills provided housing, stores, roads as well as water and sewer lines. After the mills closed, the utilities were deeded over to ECU. For the last 10 years, ECU has taken a methodical approach to replacing the sewer lines which often have poor access, outlived their useful life and no longer perform at modern standards. ECU has leveraged its funds with RIA to make improvements in a more timely manner. More than 200 customers have benefitted from these projects.