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                      <TD class=title align=left>Press Release </TD>
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                                <P class=content align=center><IMG height=85 
                                alt="Governor's Seal" 
                                src="http://www.governor.ca.gov/govsite/images/govseal.gif" 
                                width=85 NOSEND="1"> <BR><B>OFFICE OF THE 
                                GOVERNOR</B> <BR>
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                                <P class=content><B>GAAS:80:04</B><BR><B><U>FOR 
                                IMMEDIATE RELEASE</U></B><BR><B>02/24/2004</B> 
                                </P><BR>
                                <P class=title align=center><STRONG>Governor 
                                Schwarzenegger Appoints Lester Snow Director of 
                                the Department of Water Resources </STRONG>
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                                <P class=content><B></B></P>
                                <P class=content>Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger 
                                today announced the appointment of Lester Snow 
                                as director of the California Department of 
                                Water Resources.</P>
                                <P class=content>"I am very pleased that Lester 
                                will be joining my administration and I am 
                                confident that he will use his vast knowledge in 
                                water resource management to lead the state's 
                                efforts to find balance between conservation and 
                                development," said Governor Schwarzenegger. </P>
                                <P class=content>Snow has over 25 years of 
                                experience working in public water resource 
                                management. Since 2001 he has been a principal 
                                at Saracino-Kirby-Snow, the water resource 
                                planning and management division of Schlumberger 
                                Water Services. At the same time he has also 
                                been the North American business development 
                                manager for Schlumberger Water Services. Prior 
                                to that, he served as the Mid-Pacific regional 
                                director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. From 
                                1995 to 1999 he served as the executive director 
                                of the CALFED Bay-Delta program and prior to 
                                that spent seven years as the general manager of 
                                the San Diego County Water Authority. Snow's 
                                experience also includes six years with the 
                                Arizona Department of Water Resources including 
                                four years as the Tuscon Area director.</P>
                                <P class=content>"I am honored Governor 
                                Schwarzenegger has given me this opportunity to 
                                bring my experience in water resource management 
                                to the state, and I look forward to serving the 
                                people of California in this capacity," said 
                                Snow.</P>
                                <P class=content>Snow, 52, is a Democrat from 
                                Fair Oaks, CA. He earned a Master of Science in 
                                water resources administration from the 
                                University of Arizona, and a Bachelor of Science 
                                in earth sciences from Pennsylvania State 
                                University. This position requires Senate 
                                confirmation and the compensation is $123,255. 
                                </P>
                                <P class=content>The California Department of 
                                Water Resources protects, conserves and develops 
                                the state's water supply. The Department 
                                forecasts future water needs, evaluates and 
                                inventories existing water supplies and explores 
                                conservation and storage options to meet the 
                                needs of the state's growing population. They 
                                are also responsible for maintaining and 
                                repairing levees in the Central Valley and 
                                responding to flood emergency situations. The 
                                Department has a budget of $405.9 million with 
                                2,537 employees and is under the umbrella of the 
                                California Resources Agency. 
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<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff Cohen</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Public 
Information Officer,</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Office of Water 
Education</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>California Department of Water 
Resources</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>1416 9th St., Room 1104-1</FONT> 
<BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sacramento, CA 95814</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial 
size=2>(916) 653-0979</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial 
size=2>jcohen@water.ca.gov</FONT> </P>
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