SAN DIEGO, California (November 18, 1998) – David A. Abel, president and CEO of the publishing house ABL, Inc., has been elected to the Board of Directors of Western Water Company (Nasdaq:WWTR).

Mr. Abel, a civic and community leader in Los Angeles for more than two decades, publishes two monthly newsletters: Metro Investment Report, which covers public policy and infrastructure in Southern California, and The Planning Report, an insiders’ guide to land use and development issues in the region. A longtime proponent of water resource planning, Mr. Abel was instrumental in convening two recent symposia on water policy development for leaders in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“Mr. Abel has been a catalyst in the political, legal and financial analysis of water policy in Southern California during the recent period of dramatic change and development,” said Michael George, president and CEO of Western Water Company. “He brings a deep understanding of the long-term water picture and has been an active promoter of civic dialogue that is critical to developing good water policy to serve our region into the next century.”

“Voluntary water transfers are an important part of California’s future,” said Mr. Abel. “I am pleased to join Western Water Company’s Board of Directors to add my insight to the Company’s leadership in making the water market a reality rather than simply the major public policy and environmental objective of the ‘90’s.”

Mr. Abel, will be the sixth member of the board of Western Water Company. He is an original investor and corporate board member of SuperShuttle International, Inc., a shared door-to-door airport transportation company presently serving 17 airports nationwide.

A graduate of Claremont McKenna College, with advanced degrees earned at Harvard University and Boston University, Mr. Abel also was a Coro Foundation fellow and later served as a director of the organization.

In addition to his business activities, Mr. Abel serves on a number of civic and community boards including the American Jewish Committee: Institute for American Pluralism and the Catholic Charities Community Development Corporation. He was honored with the 1997 Pat Brown Institute Public Achievement Award and the 1998 Los Angeles League of Women Voters Civic Achievement Award.

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.