SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 1998-- Michael Patrick George has been named president and chief executive officer of Western Water Co. (NASDAQ:WWTR), joining the company to help spearhead an aggressive water resources expansion plan, it was announced today by Peter Jensen, chairman of Western Water.

Mr. George will work with Mr. Jensen on all major policy issues regarding water asset management and resource acquisition, lead the company's water marketing program and direct the company's activities regarding infrastructure and public policy. He joins Western Water from the San Francisco office of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., where, as a managing director, his financial and water expertise earned him a track record of successful financings for a variety of Western states, counties, cities and special districts, as well as private resource providers, including Western Water. Mr. George has specialized in the water infrastructure business and has an extensive background in the complex law and policy surrounding water in the West.

"Michael and J.P. Morgan have been instrumental in the activities of Western Water in the last two years, so I am pleased to have him join me in helping to take the company to the next level of growth," said Mr. Jensen. "We valued his expertise as our investment banker and as a water industry expert and are excited that he is joining the company to help build it as the leader in water resource management and delivery in California and other Western states."

"I am proud to become a part of Western Water and to help design creative, economic solutions for its growing customer base throughout California and the West," said Mr. George. "The development and management of water resources is vital to an economy which depends on a consistent, stable supply of this precious commodity -- our lives as well as our lifestyle depend upon it. The expansion of voluntary water transfers and a price-sensitive market allocation system will become an increasingly important part of meeting the West's growing resource needs."

Mr. George, who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and law degree from Georgetown University, began his career in private legal practice with the Washington, D.C. firm of O'Connor & Hannan in 1975. He subsequently joined Lehman Brothers in New York. After moving to California in 1983, he joined the First Boston Corp., where he managed that firm's public finance business in the Western United States.

As chairman of Western Water's board of directors, Mr. Jensen will continue to be an active member of the senior management team and will work closely with Mr. George. "I'm particularly pleased to join Peter Jensen, whom I respect as among the most sophisticated asset managers in the water business," said Mr. George. "Michael and I have complementary strengths, which should benefit Western Water's customers as well as our shareholders," Mr. Jensen commented.

Western Water Co. is a leading water resource company in the wholesale, non-regulated water market in the Western United States. Its principal activities include the acquisition, development and marketing of water supplies throughout the West.

Statements contained in this release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or future events to differ from those contained herein. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ include the company's ability to purchase water rights and obtain financing and other factors and considerations detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.