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As Sea Level Rise Threat Grows, SF Officials Don’t Have Public Plan to Save Sewers

/in , , /by /NBC Bay Areaby Stephen Stock, Robert Campos, Mark Villarreal, Michael Horn and Jeremy Carroll

Because Bay Area low-lying sewage treatment plants remain vulnerable to rising sea levels, government regulators told sewage facility managers to “provide a written plan for coping with SLR by the fall of 2021 – or they will be given a plan.”  The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reached out to 10 “at risk” sewage treatment plants to see those plans. All except one provided extensive documents of their proposals, the cost to address them, and even provided tours of completed work. San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission replied to the Investigative Unit’s public records request that after a “diligent search for records…no records were found.” Other sanitary district officials were much more forthcoming about what they’ve already spent, what they’ve built and what they’re planning in the future to combat the rise in bay levels. All agreed seas are rising faster than expected.

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Opinion: How to Save Beaches and Coastlines from Climate Change Disasters

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Michael W. Beck

The frequency of natural disasters has soared in recent decades. Total damage topped $210 billion worldwide in 2020. With climate change, the costs attributed to coastal storms will increase dramatically.

At the same time, coastal habitats such as wetlands and reefs are being lost rapidly. Some 20% of the world’s mangroves were lost over the last four decades. More than half of the Great Barrier Reef was degraded by bleaching in 2020 alone. In California, we have lost more than 90% of our coastal marshes.

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Opinion: SB 1 Provides Critical Protection for California’s Beloved Coastline

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Toni Atkins

I didn’t see the ocean until I was 18 years old. That late start didn’t stop me from falling in love with the sea, a love I have pursued in earnest ever since I moved to San Diego.

Here in our community, and in communities throughout California, warming waters and rising sea levels threaten both the coast we love and the people and businesses that are located there. Predictions are, that left unchecked, sea level rise will cause billions of dollars in damage in California and disrupt countless lives.

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NOAA Warns of Water Use Cutbacks, Fires and Low Levels in Reservoirs Amid Significant Drought

/in , , /by /The Hillby Celine Castronuovo

Dry weather is likely to persist in the U.S. in the coming months, with the possibility of water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest as more than half of the country experiences moderate to severe drought conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

NOAA’s Spring Outlook report stated that the U.S. could face the most significant spring drought since 2013, with the potential to impact roughly 74 million people across the country.

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Residents’ Climate Anecdotes to Inform San Diego Resilience Plan

/in , , /by /Utility Diveby Maria Rachal

The City of San Diego Planning Department is seeking public feedback as it develops a climate resilience plan focused on preparing for sea level rise, flooding and drought, extreme heat and wildfires — risks backed up by a climate change vulnerability assessment completed early last year. The Climate Resilient SD plan would build on the city’s Climate Action Plan released in 2015.

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A Surge From an Atmospheric River Drove California’s Latest Climate Extremes

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn

Flooding rains and record snow in California last week marked another extreme swing of the state’s climate pendulum. The widespread downpours triggered mudslides that damaged homes and roads near some of the huge fire scars from last summer, and also brought some of the water the state will need to end a months-long hot and dry streak and douse a record-setting wildfire season that extended into January.

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Ahead of Rain, Beaumont Plans for Unprecedented Flooding

/in , , /by /Patch.comby Renee Schiavone

It won’t take much, and the Pass Area as we know it may look dramatically different come wet weather this fall and winter. That’s according to public safety officials from various Riverside County agencies who are working to get the word out about the danger of “flood after fire.”

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California Department of Water Resources Says Wildfires Lead to Increased Flood Risks: Be Prepared, Stay Alert

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

California has experienced record-breaking wildfires in 2020 with more than 4 million acres burned, increasing the risk of flash flooding along with mud and debris flows to communities and homes downslope of burn areas. The impacts caused by wildfires can be drastic when it comes to flood risk. In normal conditions, trees, shrubs, grass, and other protective groundcover allow rainfall to infiltrate into the soil.

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Opinion: Building Long-Term Resilience to Climate Change in California

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Matthew Armsby and Marisa Buchanan

In the past decade, California has experienced its most severe drought in over a millennium, devastating floods, the hottest summer on record and eight of the 10 largest wildfires ever recorded in the state.

Within the past month, Death Valley set a new record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth, and wildfires burned an area larger than the state of Connecticut. Three of the largest wildfires in California history are still smoldering, the smoke from which is now visible as far away as New York City.

Climate-driven disasters are increasingly putting Californians at risk and our most vulnerable populations, comprised largely of people of color, are suffering disproportionate impacts. These populations often have the least access to parks, greenspace and health care resources, and are at increased risk from rising temperatures, poor air quality driven by wildfires and other climate change impacts.

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New Atmospheric River Scale Aims to Measure Damage Potential of Incoming Rain Storms

/in , , /by /KOMO News Seattleby Scott Sistek

Hurricanes have the Saffir-Simpson Scale (Category 5), tornadoes have the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-3) but now the West Coast has a storm scale of our own with a recent introduction of a new rating system for atmospheric rivers — the causes of a vast majority of our annual autumn and winter flooding damage.

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