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OPINION: Next California Governor Must Focus On Climate Adaptation

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Jim Wunderman and Jonathan Parfrey

California’s efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions have made the state an icon in the fight against climate change, a status validated by Gov. Jerry Brown hosting the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco next month. Yet despite its success, California is only slowly beginning to take action to help communities adapt to the brutal changes in our climate already well underway. California’s next governor should focus on climate adaptation as an urgent priority to protect California’s businesses and residents — particularly the elderly and the poor — from the ravages of climate change.

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El Niño Fears Grow As Starving Baby Birds Wash Up On California Beaches

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

Scores of starving baby seabirds have been washing up on Northern California beaches this summer, raising fears among scientists that a climatic cycle like the one that wreaked havoc on sea creatures a few years ago may be moving in. More than 100 undernourished common murre babies have been plucked from beaches from Monterey to Marin County by biologists and volunteers with International Bird Rescue and are being rehabilitated at the organization’s Fairfield center.

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OPINION: Water Investments Fuel Our Growing Economy

/in , /by /San Diego Business Journalby Janice Brown & Kirby Brady Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While it may seem both obvious and subtle, San Diego County’s thriving $220 billion economy and quality of life is made possible by a safe and reliable water supply. Every day, water is delivered to 1.1 million households and 98,000 businesses throughout the region.

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Amid Trump Rollbacks, California Moves To Regulate Wetlands On Its Own

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

California officials are poised to seize control over a major arena of federal regulation in response to Trump administration rollbacks: the management and protection of wetlands. Wetlands are vital features on the landscape. Basically low spots in a watershed, when they fill with water they provide important habitat for birds, fish and other species. Wetlands also help control floods and recharge groundwater, and they filter the water we drink. On the other hand, being generally flat and maligned as “swamps,” they are popular places to pave and build.

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Water Authority Has An Ally In Atkins

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Sara Libby and Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority helped delay a legislative hearing about the future of the State Water Project, the 700-mile water system that provides water from Northern California’s rivers to over 25 million state residents. The Water Authority is seeking to lower its own rates, even though it may be increasing others’. The agency hopes the state or the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will agree to spare San Diego ratepayers certain expenses associated with Gov. Jerry Brown’s $20 billion twin tunnels project. After years of outright skepticism, the Water Authority supports the project, but only under certain conditions.

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Jack Bebee Officially Named General Manager For Fallbrook Public Utility District

/in , /by /Water News Network

After a nationwide search with a pool of 54 candidates, the Fallbrook Public Utility District has a new general manager at the helm. Jack Bebee has been the district’s acting general manager for months. Prior to that, he served as the district’s chief engineer and assistant general manager. Bebee was selected by the board of directors in March but remained in the “acting general manager” role until his contract was approved at the Aug. 27 board meeting.

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Trump Administration Talks Of Boosting Central Valley Water Deliveries. But Is It Just Talk?

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

With talk of boosting water deliveries to Central Valley agriculture, the Trump administration is telling growers exactly what they want to hear. But given California’s complex water system and a web of federal and state environmental regulations, such promises could prove more political than practical.

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Bathers, Dogs Should Stay Out Of Lake Elsinore Because Of Toxic Algae Blooms

/in , /by /Pasadena Star-Newsby Martin Wisckol

Algae blooms have reached toxic levels in Lake Elsinore, prompting state water officials to issue a danger alert and urge people — and their pets — to stay out of the lake until further notice. Lake Elsinore was the only body of water in Southern California to reach the “danger” level in the statewide advisory issued Friday by the California State and Regional Water Boards, which tested water quality in the state’s lakes last week. No area lakes received a “warning” level, in which people and animals are also told to stay out of the water, although three have received “caution” designations.

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Wildfire Risk Likely To Increase Into Late September As Hot, Dry Weather Builds Across West

/in , /by /AccuWeather (State College, Pa.)by Alex Sosnowski

The western United States remains a tinderbox, and wildfire conditions may worsen as September weather patterns progress. A persistent northward bulge in the jet stream allowed temperatures to soar to well above average and at times record levels in parts of the West this summer. That same weather pattern may return later in September. Most of the large wildfires in California that have burned 875,000 acres as of Aug. 28 are now mostly contained. However, multiple large fires in the Northwest continue to burn with with substantially less containment.

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Record-Hot August, Dry Year Leave High Fire Risk In County

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

This month will go down as San Diego’s hottest August on record. It was the second hottest month, any time of year, in city history. The month set or tied 15 daily records for either the highest maximum or minimum temperature. The August heat follows a similarly toasty July, making the July/August combination the second hottest in city history. And the heat comes near the tail end of the second driest rainfall season on record, dating back to 1850. The heat and the prolonged dryness set up the county for a challenging fall, which historically is when the region’s biggest and most destructive wildfires have struck.

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