WEST COVINA, Calif., April 26, 2001 — Southwest Water Co. today reported increases in first-quarter revenues, income and earnings per share.

For the three months ended March 31, 2001, as compared with the same period in 2000, revenues rose 13 percent to $23,215,000, net income increased 24 percent to $535,000, and earnings per common share achieved a 20 percent gain to $0.06.

Anton C. Garnier, Southwest Water president and CEO, said: "The results of this quarter demonstrate our successful integration of the operations of three acquisitions made in 2000. These acquisitions helped us offset lower revenue resulting from cooler, wet weather and the impact of higher energy costs experienced in our California operations during the first quarter of 2001.

Also during the first quarter, the acquisitions helped the company replace revenue and income enjoyed last year with the sale of a large water treatment project in El Paso, Texas.

"We will continue to focus on developing opportunities in our existing business lines: contract operations, submetering and regulated utility operations. We also remain attentive to potential acquisitions that would meet our strategic goals and may consider various capital financing alternatives to help us achieve these goals. We are excited about the company's prospects and look forward to continued growth in shareholder value," Garnier said.

Southwest Water provides a broad range of services, including water production and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and utility submetering. The company owns regulated public utilities and also serves utility districts and private companies under contract. More than a million people in 30 states from coast to coast depend on Southwest Water for high-quality, reliable service.