SAN DIEGO, California (October 14, 1998) - Michael Patrick George, President and CEO of Western Water Company (NASDAQ:WWTR), announced today that Judy A. Kelly, currently the Deputy Director of the CALFED Bay/Delta Program, will join the Company as a Regional Vice President located in the Bay Area.

Ms. Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Conservation of Natural Resources from the University of California at Berkeley and an advanced degree in Water Resources Geography from Oregon State University. She has 17 years of experience working in state and federal agencies involved with environmental preservation and water resource management. As a Senior Life Scientist for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Ms. Kelly was part of the Agency team whose work resulted in the historic Bay/Delta Accord and the subsequent creation of the CALFED process.

Commenting on Ms. Kelly's hiring, Mr. George said, "Judy brings to her new role at Western Water Company a deep appreciation for California's most important and precious water resource, the complex Bay/Delta ecosystem. As Deputy Director of the CALFED process, she has consistently worked to develop creative ways to restore, preserve and protect that resource while increasing its water transfer efficiency. With our interest in water transfers, we respect her commitment to making water transfers a viable part of the overall effort to better balance supply and demand, and her commitment to careful resource stewardship."

As Western Water Company's Regional Vice President in the Bay Area, Ms. Kelly will help to manage a complex and environmentally sensitive process of developing, conveying and marketing water originating in areas north of the Bay/Delta Estuary. She will assist in bringing water resources owned by the Company into the rapidly developing voluntary water transfer market while maintaining the Company's high standards for environmental protection.

"Over the last several years, I have worked to develop a set of state and federal policies that are aimed, in part, at accelerating the development of a viable water transfer market. I am excited about applying the knowledge and expertise I've developed in a practical way through Western Water Company. I am also proud to join a company with such a strong commitment to managing its resources for returns to shareholders in an environmentally enlightened manner," commented Ms. Kelly.

In her new role, Ms. Kelly will report to Zach McReynolds, Western Water Company's Vice President of Marketing and Customer Solutions. She will be based in the Company's Northern California Regional Office.

Western Water Company 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.