Lester Snow to Head State’s Water Agency

Lester Snow, a veteran in the complex, contentious world of California water issues, was named director of the Department of Water Resources by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday.

Snow, 52, a Democrat, is the former executive director of CalFed, the ambitious federal and state program to “save” the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the state’s largest watershed, by balancing the competing interests of environmentalists, cities and farmers.

He has also been regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority and director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

At CalFed, Snow acquired a reputation for being able to get bitter rivals to compromise.

“If you look at what Lester’s all about, he’s a consensus builder,” said state Sen. Mike Machado (D-Linden), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources. “He’s walked all the parties through the discord, distrust and dysfunction” that have marked California water wars. “He’s unflappable.”

Snow left CalFed in 1999 after four years. He is currently a principal in the water resources planning division of Schlumberger Water Services, a water consulting and management firm.

If confirmed by the state Senate for the $123,255 a year job, Snow would take over a department with 2,537 employees and a nearly $406-million annual budget, under the umbrella of the California Resources Agency.

Tom Graff, attorney for Oakland-based Environmental Defense, said that although Snow “is not a green” he is “knowledgeable and broad-gauged.” He praised Snow for getting the administrations of then-Gov. Pete Wilson and then-President Clinton to work together on the delta.

“He had it tough. He had a Republican governor and Democratic president where there was not much in the way of respect,” Graff said.

Bill Pauli, president of the California Farm Bureau, who had recommended that the governor name Snow, said Snow’s experience managing large agencies will mean he will “hit the ground running” in directing one of the state government’s largest departments.

Snow has a master’s degree in water resources from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from Penn State University.