Dairy Creek Golf Course is low on water, but SLO County says let it go brown.
“It is hard for me to justify taking water for drinking and using it for pleasure when people have wells that go dry,” said Supervisor Lynn Compton, who voted alongside supervisors Bruce Gibson and Adam Hill against using potable water to supplement irrigation at the 20-year-old course in El Chorro Regional Park.
The golf course is operating with limited water and isn’t due additional deliveries until Dec. 1.
Parks and Recreation Director Nick Franco said for now he will continue to water all 18 holes, at a limited capacity, as he attempts to negotiate with the state to gain access to water that is currently promised to the California Men’s Colony, a state prison.
Existing facilities include a dog park, trails, a botanical garden, campground and ball fields, in addition to the golf course.
It includes potential added activities, such as a mountain bike skills course and disc golf area.
Faced with a decreasing water supply and steadily declining revenues, the board hired a consultant to develop a long-term plan for the park that would help pay off the bond debt for the golf course, which remains around $5 million.
Supervisors Debbie Arnold and John Peschong both voted to use potable water from either Cal Poly or Whale Rock at costs that ranged between $1,000 and $2,000 per acre-foot, arguing that the course will generate more revenue with an irrigated 18 holes.
If the parks director is able to negotiate additional water from the state from a nearby well, he will take the decision to the board to make a final decision about how much of the course will go brown this year.
Monica Vaughan: 805-781-7930, @MonicaLVaughan Declining business at Dairy Creek At Dairy Creek Golf Course’s high point, there were 62,000 rounds of golf played in one year.

Records Show Hundreds of Wells Could Leak CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— Citing new records showing the potential for drinking water contamination around Corpus Christi, the Center for Biological Diversity today supplemented its legal protest to a federal oil and gas lease sale planned for Thursday.
The leases would allow fracking within and near several Texas reservoirs and dams that supply drinking water to Corpus Christi and other cities.
Since its original protest was filed, the Center has obtained records showing that old plugged wells are leaking into the Choke Canyon reservoir.
More than 100 active oil wells and seven gas wells are within the reservoir — many within 2 miles of lease-sale parcels.
There are four leaking wells at Choke Canyon and hundreds of existing wells at Choke Canyon, Lake Somerville and Lake Texana that could potentially leak, according to public records.
If new wells are drilled on new federal leases, more high-pressure fracking could push chemical-laden fluid into old wells, contaminating water supplies if the old wells leak.
The Center’s protest cites the BLM’s failure to consider Bureau of Reclamation recommendations for more analysis in the face of fracking-caused earthquake risks to Choke Canyon dam.
Since the Center filed its original protest in February, public records obtained from the Texas Railroad Commission and Bureau of Reclamation revealed that four plugged wells are leaking gas, two within and two near Choke Canyon Reservoir, a primary Corpus Christi water supply.
But records show that since then, federal, state and Corpus Christi officials have considered underwater inspections of the leaking wells.
It’s alarming that they’re allowing this lease sale to continue.” Conservation groups and the city of Corpus Christi filed formal protests in February challenging the leasing plan, raising concerns about spills, water contamination and earthquakes that could jeopardize dam integrity and harm downstream water users.

A group of Grade 7 students in Calgary is calling on all levels of government to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday by giving First Nations communities across the country the gift of clean water.
Denise Hammond and her humanities classmates at Ian Bazalgette junior high school have spent almost the entire school year researching, writing letters to government officials and fundraising for their cause, which they’re calling the Clean Water Birthday Project.
WATCH: New report says federal government not doing enough to address First Nations water crisis “Our mission is to try to get awareness out about the more than 100 First Nations communities in Canada that do not have access to clean drinking water,” Hammond said.
It’s already been going on for some places more than 20 years, so we’re hoping that if we get enough awareness out there that the government will actually take action and get it resolved by the end of 2017.” Getting the project started It all started after Hammond showed her students two short documentaries highlighting the lack of access to clean water on First Nations.
They wrote the exact same thing to everyone, and it was pretty off topic,” Jordan Milligan, one of the students involved, said.
“I think what’s going to happen is [the kids are] going to look differently at bad situations,” Winslow added.
READ MORE: Many First Nations communities without access to clean drinking water Hammond admits her students have been discouraged at times, but that despite the failures, the kids continue to work towards their goal.
Like someone sharing our stuff on Facebook, or getting 10 more people clicking one of our links – these are still successes,” Hammond said.
So we can try.” Hope for the future The school year is almost over for the students, but their teacher is planning on keeping the project going.
“I hope [people] consider that others don’t have clean drinking water, and do something about it.

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said.
The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.
"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.
Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don’t have basic sanitation.
He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.
Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."
"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said.
The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.
"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.
Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don’t have basic sanitation.
He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.
Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."
"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.

We can and should solve water poverty.
During the California drought, every American suffered from lack of water.
In countries with water poverty, what is the use of education for those dying of thirst?
Should we solve education, disease, famine or water poverty first?
The facts are that no problem of world poverty can be solved until we resolve the fundamental problem.
Despite this great news, we must end the water poverty crisis.
With a trickle of effort and a drop of money, we can save millions from suffering and death.
I am not suggesting this; we should continue donating as we do, but with a commitment to resolve a problem that can be solved within our lifetimes.
We have in our power the ability to save our world from a problem that it has had since pre-history.
Tell everyone the importance of solving water poverty, just maybe not over a cup of coffee.

Man walks so others can have access to clean water.
MARINE CITY — James Leitner is walking for water.
"I’m pulling 10 gallons of water every day," he said.
Leitner said the length of his journey — 3,200 miles — is what the average person in Tanzania will walk in a year to get water.
There also is a place on the website where people can donate to the Philadelphia Serengeti Alliance to help fund clean water projects in Tanzania.
According to the website, there are 307 broken wells in the Mara region of Tanzania that could provide clean water if they are repaired.
Most people have been friendly and supportive of his trek, Leitner said.
Leitner said he has done other water awareness events, including running 12 marathons while carrying about 45 pounds of water.
How to help James Leitner is walking 3,200 miles across North America from Princeton, New Jersey to San Francisco, California to raise awareness and money for clean water projects in the Mara region of Tanzania.
People can find out more about his cross country trek at http://missioncleanwater.com.

World Bank, UN-Water and Industry Promote Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Water.
31 May 2017: The World Bank and the CEO Water Mandate have announced initiatives focused on increasing information, dialogue and knowledge sharing on sustainable water projects, while the 89th National Construction Industry Meeting in Brasilia, Brazil discussed water scarcity in the context of climate change.
Multi-stakeholder dialogues and technical assistance are part of this effort.
On 15 May, UN-Water announced the launch of the revamped ‘Water Action Hub’ by the CEO Water Mandate.
The site has been reorganized so that users can easily identify projects and organizations that are working on specific targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Besides the targets under SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, water-related targets under other SDGs are also highlighted, including those on disaster management (target 11.5), sustainable production (target 12.4) and climate resilience and adaptation (target 13.1).
The UN Global Compact established the CEO Water Mandate in 2007 as a public-private initiative to mobilize business leaders to become good stewards of water.
From 24-26 May, the Brazilian Construction Industry Chamber and the Federal District’s Construction Industry Union organized the 89th National Construction Industry Meeting in Brasilia, Brazil.
During the debate, the Forum’s consultant Glauko Kimura noted “the importance of cooperation among cities to change the water management framework in Brazil and to promote economic and sustainable growth,” warning also of the need to use water efficiently in the construction industry.
[World Bank Web Story on Water-Scarce Cities Initiative] [World Bank Brochure on Water-Scarce Cities Initiative] [UN-Water Announcement on Water Action Hub] [CEO Water Mandate Website] [World Water Forum Press Release]

California Homeowners Can Now Make Their Own Drinking Water with SOURCE Drinking Water Solar Panels.
SOURCE panels are sustainable and don’t require any electricity or piped input connections other than sun and air to produce water daily.
The mineralization process is simply calcium and magnesium, providing a great-tasting and safe alternative to bottled water for people worried about water quality.
Source panels are installed in arrays from one to many depending on the drinking water demands of a household.
When purchasing SOURCE, people also share a portion of the cost of another panel with Zero Mass Water that is then installed for a family without access to safe water.
This is water, democratized.
Water Democratized is the vision of Zero Mass Water CEO Cody Friesen, and is enabled by cutting edge technology that bypasses the need to clean and transport existing water, instead simply pulling it from thin air.
“We’re excited to continue making SOURCE available to consumers here in the U.S. – starting with California and Arizona, where water issues hit close to home.” SOURCE panels are currently available in Arizona and in California.
To sign up and learn more, please visit http://www.zeromasswater.com.
ABOUT ZERO MASS WATER – Founded in 2014, Zero Mass Water is a renewable water company dedicated to democratizing water with SOURCE, solar panels that make water from air.

Blue Mounds State Park Contaminated Water Being Worked On.
LUVERNE, MN.- Drinking water and fresh showers will soon be a reality for campers at Blue Mounds State Park.
Three years ago the staff had to close the parks well after it was contaminated with E.coli.
It’s no surprise to the workers at Luverne Area Aquatics and Fitness Center to see campers from Blue Mounds State Park come in to use their showers.
“We see a lot more in the summer time and on the hotter weekends and things like that.
We’ll see quite a few come in and use the shower,” says Honerman.
For three years, the community center has opened its showers to campers after the park’s well became contaminated with E.coli.
So each day camper’s travel for 3 miles from the park to the community center, to shower and get some drinking water, but the center says the setback has turned into a blessing.
“We are happy that they can utilize us and like I said we get some benefits out of it too.
The park says despite the contamination, campers have still been coming in.