SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 06/01/09 -- Martin A. Kropelnicki, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT), was named Bay Area CFO of the Year for public companies with up to $500 million in revenue at a dinner benefiting Larkin Street Youth Services on May 28.

The awards program is an annual event that honors Bay Area Chief Financial Officers. The other two finalists in the category were Thomas P. Cawley of Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. and Randy S. Gottfried, from Riverbed Technology, Inc. More than 100 candidates were considered in the recognition program, and evaluation criteria included individual candidate attributes and company performance, according to San Francisco Business Times Publisher Mary Huss.

Among Kropelnicki's achievements are his leadership on California Water Service Group's success in promoting water efficiency and conservation while improving its financial health and recent bond offering rated AA- by S&P. In accepting the award, Kropelnicki attributed his success to his team.

"It has been a real pleasure to work with this group of people, and I couldn't have accomplished what I have without them. It's very exciting to be able to bring a new perspective to a company with such a long and rich history," he said.

California Water Service Group is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc., and CWS Utility Services. Together these companies provide regulated and non-regulated water service to nearly 2 million people in 100 California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii communities. Group's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CWT."