Water Authority Taps Arizona Man for General Manager Post

The San Diego County Water Authority has selected an Arizona man as its new general manager.

The appointment of Lester Snow, 36, of Tucson, was made Thursday by the authority’s board of directors during a closed session. Snow, who will be paid $85,000 a year, will start the job in January. He replaces Ralph Grahl, who has been serving as acting manager. Grahl said he will return to his job as a part-time consultant with Sholders & Sanford, a civil engineering firm based in Hillcrest.

Snow currently oversees 17 employees and makes $55,000 a year as director of a regional water planning district for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

The San Diego post became vacant in March when Lawrence R. Michaels resigned after three years, citing “the burden of the job.” A consultant’s report critical of the authority’s management had been issued before the resignation.

The decision by Michaels also coincided with controversy over the authority’s plan to build Pamo Dam. At the time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had failed to approve the plan to flood Pamo Valley near Ramona and thus create a giant reservoir. The agency said the San Diego County Water Authority, under Michaels’ leadership, had not adequately looked for an alternative to the Pamo project, which the agency considered environmentally destructive.

The project was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this month despite objections from the EPA, which can veto the decision, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.