NEW ORLEANS, LA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/04/08 -- Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC ("KGS") announces that a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, on behalf of purchasers of securities of Southwest Water Company ("Southwest" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SWWC) between May 10, 2005 and November 7, 2008, inclusive (the "Class Period"). No class has yet been certified in this action.

If you would like to discuss your legal rights, along with the lead plaintiff position and its related responsibilities including overseeing lead counsel with a goal of obtaining a fair settlement, you may email or call KGS Managing Partner Lewis Kahn, without obligation or cost to you, toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext. 100, via cell phone after hours at 504-301-7900, or by email at mailto:lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com.

Southwest and certain of its officers are charged with violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, for issuing a series of materially false statements that concealed and failed to disclose that the Company had published materially inaccurate and false information regarding the Company's financial condition. Specifically, the complaint charges that defendants misled investors concerning the following: (1) improperly accounting for the rate of depreciation of assets acquired via acquisition; (2) improperly accounting for revenues and related costs of installation of water and sewer taps; (3) failing to prepare financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (4) failing to maintain adequate internal and financial controls; and that (5) Southwest's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

Investors only learned the truth about the Company on November 10, 2008, when it announced that its financial statements for years ended December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007, for each quarter therein, as well as for the first two quarters of 2008, would be restated and could not be relied upon. Shares of Southwest declined precipitously after this news -- falling $2.97 per share, or approximately 36%, to close at $5.25 per share, on heavy trading volume.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this class action lawsuit, you must move the Court no later than January 26, 2009. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you would like to discuss your legal rights, you may email or call KGS Managing Partner Lewis Kahn, without obligation or cost to you, toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext. 100, after hours via cell phone 504-301-7900, or by email at lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com. To learn more about KGS, you may visit www.kgscounsel.com. KGS is a law firm focused on securities class action litigation with offices in New Orleans and New York City.

KGS' lawyers have significant experience litigating complex securities class actions. Among other cases, KGS has been appointed Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in the following securities cases: In re: U.S. Auto Parts Networks, Inc. Securities Litigation, C.D. Cal.; In re Optionable, Inc. Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y.; In re Xethanol Corporation Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y.; Pixelplus Co. Ltd., S.D.N.Y.; In re Witness Systems Inc. Securities Litigation, N.D. Ga.; Whitney Information Network, M.D. Fla.; In re Superior Offshore International, Inc. Securities Litigation, S.D. Tex.; In re Xinhua Finance Media, Ltd. Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y.; Terayon Comm. Systems Inc., N.D. Cal.; and In re BigBand Networks, Inc. Securities Litigation, N.D. Cal.

SPECIAL NOTICE: KGS encourages you to carefully evaluate any firm you may consider to represent your interests in the Southwest class action. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act ("PSLRA") permits Southwest shareholders to choose counsel of their choice to prosecute this action. Critical components of a law firm's ability to successfully prosecute this action and obtain a strong recovery for you include the resources it will dedicate to prosecution of the case, including the number of lawyers the firm has available for the Southwest action in particular, AND especially the quality of the firm's work. Interested shareholders are encouraged to call for consultation and to request more information about KGS. While KGS has not filed suit yet, the firm is currently conducting its own investigation of Southwest and invites shareholders to evaluate its complaint when choosing counsel.