SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 1998--A high-powered group of 28 California business executives, in a bold and unusual step, are urging President Clinton and California Governor Pete Wilson to act now to solve the state's long-standing and vexing water problems involving the Bay-Delta ecosystem.

Moreover, among other, more general recommendations, they are urging the establishment of an expanded and fully functioning state water market to facilitate voluntary water transfers.

In a jointly signed letter mailed today to the President and Governor, the chief executive officers, board chairmen and presidents of some of the state's leading businesses and organizations stated, ''Federal and state agencies and stakeholder groups must achieve a plan this year for implementation of a comprehensive solution that will improve certainty of water supply and quality as well as restore environmental health to the Bay-Delta ecosystem.''

The Bay-Delta supplies about two-thirds of the fresh water used in California, including drinking water for more than 22 million state residents.

The executives' recommendations focus on supporting the ongoing CALFED Bay-Delta Program and creating an expanded voluntary water transfer market. CALFED involves a joint effort among state and federal agencies that manage the Bay-Delta, as well as a diverse group of business, agriculture, urban and environmental interests, to restore the Delta as a vital habitat for fish and wildlife and a critical source of water for businesses, cities and farms. CALFED officials released a draft report in March and a public comment period is now underway.

An expanded water market, meanwhile, would bring a host of benefits, as the letter highlights: "A fully functioning water market would provide increased certainty and ensure the most efficient possible use of developed supplies, facilitate the improvement of water quality, demonstrate which infrastructure projects are necessary, facilitate significant user funding to reduce general taxpayer burden, allocate costs among beneficiaries more fairly, and ensure more efficient use of capital."

Declared Philip J. Quigley, Chairman of the California Business Roundtable, "The fact that we are involving ourselves in this issue should demonstrate the importance of both finding a long-term water solution and seizing the opportunity now. California's business leaders, as with most Californians in general, agree that ensuring our state's water quality and supply, while also restoring the Delta region, is critically important to maintaining our quality of life and our economic vitality."

"Achieving a fair and effective long-term water solution requires at least two things," stated Gary Rogers, Chairman and CEO, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc., and Chairman of the Bay Area Council. "First, public officials and stakeholders must come to agreement on the CALFED program. Second, we need to implement a robust water market, which will create efficient management of our water resources and promote sound stewardship of the Bay-Delta ecosystem."

The business leaders, with one eye on California's booming economy and the other on the state's dwindling supply of its most precious resource, are moving to add momentum to the CALFED process and to encourage long-term solutions by year's end.

Concluded Robert Parry, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, "Clearly, California would not have close to a $900 billion economy, the seventh largest in the world, without its intricate water supply systems. It is just as clear that the state's future growth and quality of life depend on our resolving the tremendous strains on the system and restoring confidence in its reliability."

A group of 11 CEOs in 1994 signed a letter to President Clinton and Governor Wilson urging the approval and implementation of new water quality standards for the Delta. That letter is often cited as pivotal in helping the Clinton and Wilson Administrations reach agreement on the 1994 Bay-Delta accord.

Signers of April 15, 1998 Letter to President Clinton and California Governor Pete Wilson, "CALFED Bay-Delta Program and a Voluntary Water Market"

Gilbert F. Amelio, The Parkside Group Eli Broad, Chairman & CEO, SunAmerica, Inc. John E. Bryson, Chairman & CEO, Edison International [NYSE:EIX] Jim Coriston, Managing Partner, Price Waterhouse LLP David A. Coulter, Chairman & CEO, BankAmerica Corporation Kenneth T. Derr, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation [NYSE:CHV] Donald G. Fisher, Chairman, GAP, Inc. Michael Patrick George, President & CEO, Western Water Company [Nasdaq:WWTR] Ted W. Hall, Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc. Paul Hazen, Chairman & CEO, Wells Fargo Bank Frank C. Herringer, Chairman & CEO, Transamerica Corporation [NYSE:TA] Bruce Karatz, Chairman, President & CEO, Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation

Richard A. Kashnow, Chairman, CEO & President, Raychem Corporation [NYSE:RYC] David M. Lawrence, M.D., Chairman & CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Thomas L. Lee, Chairman & CEO, The Newhall Land & Farming Company Thomas McKernan, President & CEO, Automobile Club of Southern California

J. Tracy O'Rourke, Chairman & CEO, Varian Associates, Inc. Lewis E. Platt, Chairman, President & CEO, Hewlett-Packard Company [NYSE:HWP] Robert T. Parry, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Philip J. Quigley, Chairman, California Business Roundtable Nelson C. Rising, President & CEO, Catellus Development Corporation [NYSE:CDX] T. Gary Rogers, Chairman & CEO, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. and Chairman, Bay Area Council

Stephen C. Schott, Managing Partner, Oakland A's and President, Citation/Award Homes

Gordon R. Smith, President & CEO, Pacific Gas and Electric Company Thomas C. Sutton, Chairman & CEO, Pacific Life Insurance Company Chang-Lin Tien, Ph.D., Chairman, Bay Area Economic Forum Victor Weisser, President & CEO, California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance

Willis B. Wood, Jr., President & CEO, Pacific Enterprise