If June 2026 was the month the bloom ambushed California six weeks early, July was the month divers learned to live with it. The plankton didn't vanish — but a persistent marine heatwave, a warm surface lens, and a reliable afternoon clearing pattern gave patient divers real windows. This is what actually happened in the water in July, region by region, grounded in dozens of in-water reports and the offshore intel that shaped the month.