If you are shopping for a home in the Tega Cay or Fort Mill area right now you will notice lawns looking brown instead of green these days. With higher or I should say HOT summer temperatures and water restrictions that are in place, it is difficult to maintain a bright green lawn.

So you might ask what are the current water restrictions? Here is an update.

Tega Cay’s city council did revise the current stage 3 water restrictions on May 31st. Stage 3 restriction have been in place since October of last year. We were blessed with much needed rain during the spring season so the council reduced the restrictions slightly from the April 21st, 2008 change. We are still in stage 3 water restriction with the following changes:

You are allowed to water lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems one day a week.
Odd addresses are allowed to water any time on Saturdays
Even addresses are allowed to water anytime on Sundays.

The April 21st update only allowed you to water on the designated day from 12:01am to 9am. The May 31st change allows you to water anytime during your designated day.

Besides the change to the time of watering your lawns 1 day a week, you may now wash vehicles, watercraft, fill pools, and pressure wash structures/driveways on the same designated day of the week. But only one day a week on your designated day.

Residents are allowed to use hand held watering containers and hoses with spray nozzles to water plants, shrubs, flowers, containers, gardens, and lawns any time and any day of the week.

Tega Cay restrictions now match the current York County stage 3 restrictions. Fort Mill water restrictions are similar except the only day to water, wash, or fill is Saturday. Fort Mill did not break out different days for even or odd addresses.

In all jurisdictions, watering, washing, and filing on days other than your assigned day is strictly prohibited. And so is any water run off.

The use of irrigation systems that pump water directly from Lake Wylie are controlled by Duke Energy Lake Management and now are allowed to “pump” water only on Saturdays.

The information above is from the Tega Cay city website, Fort Mill city website, and the York County SC website. Click here for a PDF of the Tega Cay city May 31st amended water restriction.

Get ready for a traffic change on highway 160. I reported at the beginning of the month the Tega Cay Wal-Mart will open March 17th. I went to the new Wal-Mart site today and caught the employees (sorry associates) coming back from a lunch break. I asked several associates when will the store open. All associates answered the same, Friday March 7th.

The Wal-Mart sign is up, merchandise is arriving and stocked daily so get ready to shop, fight traffic, etc. The store does not come without controversy. Manly locals fought hard to keep Wal-Mart from coming. They obviously lost. Tega Cay annexed the development and pushed for harsh architectural standards. I will say the store has a very unique front.

Will there you have it. On March 7th you can stay away or shop to you drop.

Here is a store fact list from Walmartstores.com

Store fast facts

• Location: 1151 Stonecrest Blvd., Tega Cay, S.C.
• 203,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter
• Grand opening celebration: 7:30 a.m., Friday, March 7
• Store manager: Mark Anderson

Charitable giving
$18,000 in charitable contributions to 10 area organizations:

• Boys and Girls Club of York County
• Carolina Community Care, Inc.
• City of Tega Cay
• Gold Hill Elementary School
• I’m a Kool Kid Foundation
• Gold Hill Middle School
• Habitat For Humanity International, Inc.
• Fort Mill High School
• Rock Hill Parks Foundation
• The Salvation Army

Store features

• Unique streetscape façade and extensive landscaping including gazebos, fountains, pagodas, park benches, and planters.
• Full line of groceries, beer and wine, bakery goods, deli foods, frozen foods, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, apparel and accessories, fine jewelry, Tire & Lube Express, expanded lawn and garden center, health and beauty aids, expanded electronics and home entertainment department, toys, one-hour photo lab, vision center, pharmacy and Wal-Mart Connect Center.
• Additionally, leased areas in the store include SmartStyle Family Hair Salon, a Regal Nail Salon, a Woodforest Bank branch and a Subway restaurant.
• The new Supercenter will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Employment

• The store plans to employ approximately 350 associates.
• The average wage at Wal-Mart for full-time hourly associates in South Carolina is $10.77 per hour.*
• Store Manager Mark Anderson began his Wal-Mart career in 1998 at a Wal-Mart store in Spartanburg.
• Wal-Mart benefits – available to eligible full- and part-time associates – include healthcare insurance with no lifetime maximum. Wal-Mart also offers a 401(k) plan and profit sharing contributions, whether an associate contributes or not, store discount cards, company performance-based bonuses, stock purchase program and life insurance.

* Average wage taken February 2008. See www.walmartfacts.com for details.

For more information

• Store manager: Mark Anderson, 803-578-4140
• Wal-Mart information online: www.walmartfacts.com; merchandise sales: www.walmart.com