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California Water Service Group

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FY2010 Annual Report · California Water Service Group
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Everywhere.

California Water Service Group
2010 Annual Report

California Water Service Group
1720 North First Street
San Jose, California 95112-4598
(408) 367-8200
www.calwatergroup.com

NYSE: CWT

                       Table of Contents   

  Employee Profiles    2 

Letter to Stockholders  17

Service Area Maps  30 

Eight-Year Financial Review  34

Board of Directors  36

Corporate Officers  38

California  Water  Service  Group  (NYSE:  CWT)  is  the  third  largest  investor-owned  water  utility  in 

the  United  States,  providing  high-quality  water  utility  services  to  approximately  two  million  people  in 

more  than  100  communities  through  six  subsidiaries:   California  Water  Service  Company  (Cal  Water),  

Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. (Hawaii Water), New Mexico Water Service Company (New Mexico 

Water),  Washington  Water  Service  Company  (Washington  Water),  CWS  Utility  Services  (CWSUS),  and 

HWS  Utility  Services  (HWSUS).  Cal  Water,  Hawaii  Water,  New  Mexico  Water,  and  Washington  Water  

provide  regulated  water  and  wastewater  utility  services,  while  CWSUS  and  HWSUS  conduct  the  

Company’s  non-regulated  business,  which  includes  providing  billing,  water  quality  testing,  and  

water and wastewater system operations and management services to cities and other companies.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial Highlights

Year ended December 31  

  2010  

 2009 

  2008 

2007  

2006

Market price at year-end  

$   37.27   $   36.82   $   46.43   $    37.02   $    40.40     

Book value per share  

20.91  

20.26  

19.44  

  18.66  

18.31          

Earnings per share (diluted) 

1.81  

 1.95  

   1.90  

    1.50   

  1.34           

Dividend per share  

1.19  

1.18  

 1.17  

1.16  

1.15          

Revenue*  

460,399   449,372    410,312   367,082   334,717      

Net income*  

37,656   40,554 

  39,805  

 31,159  

25,580 

*Dollars in thousands       

Stock Transfer, Dividend Disbursing, and Reinvestment Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
59 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
(800) 937-5449

To Transfer Stock
A  change  of  ownership  of  shares  (such  as  when  stock  is  sold  or  gifted  or  when  owners  are  deleted  from  or  added  to 
stock  certificates)  requires  a  transfer  of  stock.  To  transfer  stock,  the  owner  must  complete  the  assignment  on  the  back  of 
the  certificate  and  sign  it  exactly  as  his  or  her  name  appears  on  the  front.  This  signature  must  be  guaranteed  by  an  eli-
gible  guarantor  institution  (banks,  stock  brokers,  savings  and  loan  associations,  and  credit  unions  with  membership  in  
approved signature medallion programs) pursuant to SEC Rule 17Ad -15. A notary’s acknowledgement is not acceptable. This 
certificate  should  then  be  sent  to  American  Stock  Transfer  &  Trust  Company,  by  registered  or  certified  mail  with  complete 
transfer instructions. Alternatively, the Direct Registration System can be utilized, which allows electronic share transactions 
between your broker or dealer and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

Bond Registrar
US Bank Trust, N.A.
One California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111-5402
(415) 273-4580

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at the Doubletree Hotel, located at 
2050 Gateway Place in San Jose, California. Details of the business to be transacted during the meeting will be contained in 
the proxy material, which will be mailed to stockholders on or about April 8, 2011.

Anticipated Dividend Dates For 2011
Declaration   
Quarter  

Record Date  

First  
Second  
Third   
Fourth  

January 26  
April 27  
July 27   
October 26  

 February 7  
 May 9   
 August 8  
November 7 

Payment Date

 February 18
May 20
August 19
November 18

Annual Report For 2010 On Form 10-K
A copy of the Company’s report for 2010 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 10-K will be avail-
able in April 2011 and can be obtained by any stockholder at no charge upon written request to the address below. The Com-
pany’s filings with the SEC can be viewed via the link to the SEC’s EDGAR system on the Company’s web site.

Executive Office and Stockholder Information
California Water Service Group
Attn: Stockholder Relations
1720 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95112-4598
(408) 367-8200 or (800) 750-8200
http://www.calwatergroup.com

The pages in this report are 50% recycled with 25% post-consumer fiber, acid free, elemental chlorine free (ECF), and FSC-certified.

We operate 360 
water and wastewater
systems serving
approximately two 
million people in 
California, Hawaii,
New Mexico, and 
Washington.

For every one of 
those customers,
we are here.

2010 Annual Report / 3

And here,

He has been at the kitchen faucet countless times 
today – first when he made his morning coffee; again 
when he filled a drinking glass after his workout; yet 
again when he made pasta for lunch; one more time 
to swallow his vitamins; and most recently before he 
sat down to read. Not once did he wonder about the 
safety of the water, thanks  
in large part to water quality professionals like  
Stephanie Hearn. Stephanie is part of a team of 
scientists, chemists, and microbiologists who work 
tirelessly to ensure that our water meets stringent 
quality standards. As a Water Quality Project Manag-
er, Stephanie serves as a liaison between the scien-
tists in the laboratory and the water professionals in 
the field. Together, they vigilantly monitor, 
test, and treat the water in order to meet 146 water 
quality standards. Because our experts concern 
themselves with water quality, our customer doesn’t 
have to, whether he goes to the tap  
five or fifty times per day.       

Stephanie Hearn, Bakersfield & Visalia Districts

2010 Annual Report / 5

even here,

He is nervous. He’s never been in the hospital  
before, much less on the operating room table. Still, 
he knows he’s lucky they caught the problem in 
time. And he feels very good about the doctor who 
will be doing his surgery. He doesn’t even think 
about the fact that he will be much less  
likely to suffer an infection in this day and age when 
the medical community knows the importance of 
scrubbing up before going in. Hospitals rely on Cal 
Water for an uninterrupted supply of high- quality wa-
ter, and Leak Truck Foremen like Scott Carmichael 
make sure they get it. Day in and day out, Scott and 
his crew maintain, repair, and replace the water lines 
and valves necessary for reliable service. And that’s 
a good thing,  
because it gives the patient one less thing to worry 
about as he counts backwards from 10.

Scott Carmichael, Chico District

2010 Annual Report / 7

here too.

She pulls into her driveway on Juanita Avenue  
in Redondo Beach after a long day at work. All she 
wants to do is brew a cup of tea and relax in a nice 
hot bath, but when she goes to fill her kettle, there 
is no water. It’s already 8 o’clock, but when she 
calls Cal Water, someone like Dick Lee will answer. 
Because when a Cal Water customer has an after-
hours emergency, we are here. Water 
professionals like Dick monitor water system op-
erations and respond to customer calls around the 
clock, dispatching crews to help when needed. In 
this case, the problem will be easily solved. Dur-
ing the call, Dick will learn that a plumber has been 
working on the sprinkler system. Suspecting that 
he may have turned off the customer’s house valve, 
Dick will stay on the phone with her to help her lo-
cate the valve and turn it back on. By 8:15, she’ll be 
filling her teapot and her tub. 

Dick Lee, Dominguez District

2010 Annual Report / 9

Yes, 
we’re here,

All those years she spent saving up to retire in 
Hawaii, she dreamed about starting each day at the 
first hole of a lush green golf course. Now her dream 
has come true, and although she doesn’t know it, 
one of the reasons the course is so  
perfect is because it is getting all the water it needs. 
And not just any water – water from Hawaii Water 
Service Company’s Pukalani Wastewater Treatment 
Plant. Thanks to Engineers like Devi Presanna, highly 
treated effluent is being recycled and used to irrigate 
the course and free up  
precious potable water supplies. Water supply plan-
ning is one of the most critical roles of our Engi-
neers, who design the wells, pump stations, storage 
tanks, pipelines, and water treatment  
facilities in our water and wastewater systems. The 
golfer may be blissfully unaware of the  
engineering that makes it possible, but she  
still savors every moment on the course.    

Devi Presanna, General Office, San Jose

2010 Annual Report / 11

and here,

He doesn’t hear the sirens or see the lights  
flashing, but he does feel the heat from the blaze. 
Armed with a fire hose, he’s counting on a continu-
ous supply of water. Indeed, without it, he would be 
completely defenseless. That’s where a Certified 
Pump Operator like Eric Gardea comes in. One of 
the primary responsibilities of Pump Operators is 
to maintain water system production and storage 
facilities. They continuously monitor water system 
operations to ensure that the system is ready and 
able to meet customer demand. And when demand 
increases, as it would during a fire, Pump Operators 
monitor reservoir levels, adjust system pressure, and 
if necessary, activate additional sources of supply 
to boost water flow. Knowledgeable Pump Operators 
are critical, because for this firefighter, having a reli-
able supply is not just convenient,  
it’s a matter of life and death.            

Eric Gardea, East Los Angeles District

2010 Annual Report / 13

even here.

It’s not easy managing a business. You strategize.  
You execute. You control expenses. You improve 
customer service. At California Water Service Group, 
we get it. Not only do we do the same things, but 
we also provide the water service your factory needs 
to manufacture your product. Not just your product 
either, but also the products you need to make your 
product. So when your plant manager wants one of 
our water professionals on site or your accounting 
department needs clarification on the water bill, we 
are here. To be more precise, a  
friendly, professional Customer Service Representa-
tive like Krystal Sandifer is here. She knows that 
you want your issue resolved quickly the first time 
you call, with efficiency and a smile. And she is 
trained to do just that. That way, you can stay  
focused on your business without having to  
worry about ours.

Krystal Sandifer, Bakersfield District

Everywhere 
you look, you 
can see the vital role 
water plays

2010 Annual Report / 15

in our daily lives.

That’s why it is critical for us to be here for our customers. And we are. We are here, taking 
care of our water sources and our water and wastewater systems. We are here, executing 
a rigorous water quality assurance program. We are here, planning strategically to meet 
supply needs of today and tomorrow. We are here, providing responsive, professional, 
friendly service to our customers. We are here, contributing to the  
well-being of our environment and our communities.  

By doing all of these things well, we provide value to you, our valued stockholder.

 
Peter C. Nelson  President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Foy  Chairman of the Board

2010 Annual Report / 17

To Our Stockholders

If you’ve owned our stock for any length of time, you don’t expect the  
unexpected in our letter. After all, year after year, we are here, doing the same 
things – taking care of our water sources, serving our customers, 
developing our employees, and providing fair value to our stockholders. If you pick 
up previous years’ reports (and we hope you still have them!), you will see com-
mon themes from year to year, as we describe our commitment to doing the right 
thing, our responsibility for being good stewards of the life-sustaining resource 
we provide, and our pride in providing something so  
invaluable and irreplaceable as water. As much as we’d like to “wow” you with 
something you’re not expecting, we simply can’t. Because the fact of  
the matter is, we are here, doing the same key things…

We Are Here, Providing Value to Our Stockholders

As we predicted last year, 2010 was a challenge in that it was the final  
year of our transition to a three-year General Rate Case cycle in California, which 
made it a critical year for holding the line on expenses and working  
toward the best decision on the General Rate Case filed with the California Public 
Utilities Commission in 2009, approved in 2010, and effective in 2011. Although 
we were disappointed, we were not surprised by our financial results, given the 
fact that rate relief for utility operations was minimal in 2010. Total revenues 
increased 2.5% to $460.4 million. Net income decreased 7.1% to $37.7 million, 
and earnings per share were down 7.2% to $1.81.  

Throughout the year, we stayed focused on managing our operating costs, and 
we believe we have positioned the Company well for 2011 and beyond.  
In light of improvements in the regulatory environment in California and  
our successful efforts over the past few years to reach a dividend payout  

1,294,297                        10

1,198,077                 09

Five -Year 
Net Utility Plant 
(Dollars in thousands)

1,112,367                 08

1,010,196                 07

941,475                 06

2010 Annual Report / 19

ratio target range of approximately 60% of earnings, our Board of Directors  
approved a larger dividend increase for 2011, increasing annual dividends from 
$1.19 to $1.23 per common share.  

We Are Here, Working to Improve Regulation

These improvements in the regulatory climate are due in large measure to imple-
mentation of the California Public Utilities Commission’s Water Action Plan, which 
provides a roadmap for regulators and utilities by formalizing  
priorities for water regulation in California. As adopted in 2005, the Plan  
established six objectives:  

• Maintain highest standards for water quality.
• Strengthen water conservation.
• Promote water infrastructure investment.
• Assist low-income ratepayers.
• Streamline Commission decision-making.
• Set rates that balance investment, conservation, and affordability.  

The California Public Utilities Commission adopted an updated Water Action Plan 
in 2010, and we are pleased to report that the objectives set forth in 2005 have 
been carried forward in the new Plan. We are hopeful that new and continuing 
Commissioners will be guided by the Plan as they make decisions affecting our 
customers and our stockholders.  

Respect for the principles of the Water Action Plan was evident in the  
Commission’s resolution of California Water Service Company’s 2009 General 
Rate Case. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the 2009 General 
Rate Case on time, authorizing rate increases that will add $25 million to annual 
gross revenues in 2011 and an additional $8 million that may be  
obtained when certain capital projects are completed. The decision approved wa-
ter infrastructure investments, additional conservation programs, and  
increased funding for our Rate Support Fund, which helps customers in  
disadvantaged communities where water costs are high.    

2010 Annual Report / 20

We Are Here, Managing Expenses and Increasing Efficiency

In addition to working diligently toward a favorable outcome on the 2009  
General Rate Case, we continued to focus on improving our efficiency and  
service. Several achievements fall into this category.  

First, we brought our Hawaii subsidiary onto the same financial system as  
our other subsidiaries, which increases transparency and minimizes audit costs. 
More than 3,000 miles away in New Mexico, we converted to the  
same customer information system used in California, reducing billing costs, im-
proving our ability to serve New Mexico customers, and enabling us to offer cus-
tomers more payment options. Back at our San Jose headquarters, we rolled out 
a new budgeting system that will greatly improve our districts’ and departments’ 
ability to track and manage expenses, launched an initiative to streamline and 
enhance our procurement process, and made administrative changes to our pen-
sion program that significantly reduce transaction costs.

We also locked in a lower cost of debt– a benefit to both customers and  
stockholders– when we sold $100 million of first mortgage bonds. We consider 
our AA- credit rating to be a reflection of our strong balance sheet and manage-
ment team, because it is one of the best in the water industry and means our 
company is viewed as being highly creditworthy.  

We Are Here, Providing Reliable, High-Quality Water and Wastewater Services

The funds raised in our bond offering and our syndicated line of credit  
provided the capital we needed to invest in our infrastructure to ensure reliable 
and high-quality water and wastewater services. In 2010, we invested $113 mil-
lion in water and wastewater system projects, and in 2011, we expect to invest 
$125 million. Our stockholders earn a return on capital investment,  
but we don’t simply invest for the sake of investing; we are strategic and  
diligent, completing projects that truly benefit customers by improving  
reliability and water quality.  

Five -Year 
Dividend Growth

10                         1.19

09                  1.18

08                  1.17

07                  1.16

06                  1.15

CWT 20 -Year Total Return on Investment
(On stock purchased December 31, 1990, with dividends reinvested)

$900

$800

$700

$600

$500

$400

$300

$200

$100

$0 

90      91       92      93       94      95      96      97      98      99      00     01     02      03                              04      05      06       07      08      09      10

2010 Annual Report / 24

In fact, a relatively small investment yielded huge benefits for a remote 
community in the mountains in eastern New Mexico. Before we purchased  
the system and installed computer-operated remote controls, customers routine-
ly experienced days -long interruptions in service. If lightning struck (a common 
occurrence in this community called Sandia Knolls), a piece of equipment failed, 
or a manual control malfunctioned, the water stopped flowing. Today, the supply is 
much more reliable. And it costs less to operate the system, which translates into 
lower water rates for customers. This was one of several 2010 capital projects 
that increased reliability, as we completed  
a number of well and water treatment projects that reduce our dependence  
on higher-cost imported water supplies by increasing the amount of  
water we can produce locally.  

Increased reliability and expense management aren’t the only objectives;  
we strive for innovation as well. In our Bear Gulch District, we replaced a key wa-
ter line using a trenchless construction method that involves digging only at each 
end of the pipeline rather than along its entire length. Trenchless  
construction tends to be more environmentally friendly and less disruptive  
to neighbors. And in our Westlake District, we utilized the walls of an existing 
storage tank as shoring for the new tank, thereby addressing space constraints 
on the site and lessening the noise, traffic, and volume of material  
to be hauled away.  

“Green” was also the name of the game in Hawaii, where we replaced an aging 
wastewater treatment plant with a state -of-the-art Membrane Bio -Reactor (MBR) 
treatment plant that produces high -quality effluent that is reused for irrigation. 
The Pukalani Treatment Plant, located upcountry on the island of Maui, treats 
180,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Just one island away, in Waikoloa on the 
island of Hawaii, we began construction on a larger MBR filtration plant that will 
treat one million gallons of water per day when it  
is completed in 2011. 

Five -Year 
Book Value

10                        20.91

09                  20.26

08                  19.44

07                 18.66

06                  18.31

2010 Annual Report / 27

Five -Year 
Operating Revenue 
(Dollars in thousands)

460,399                        10

Conservation is by its very nature “green,” and we continued to offer a  
robust variety of conservation programs in 2010. Granted, storms in late 2010 
vastly improved the state’s water supply picture, with mountain snowpack at 
nearly 200 % of normal and most major reservoirs near or above  
average at year- end. Time will tell if this wet weather will continue into 2011, 
but the first few months of the year have been promising. Regardless, in  
wet years or dry, we recognize the importance of water-use efficiency and 
strategic water supply planning.  

449,372                  09

We Are Here, Improving Our Customer Service

410,312                  08

367,082                  07

All of these things– providing stockholder value, improving regulation,  
increasing efficiency, and ensuring reliable and high-quality water and wastewater 
services– enable us to provide excellent customer service. Beyond the improve-
ments in water infrastructure and upgrades in technology that we’ve already cov-
ered, there is the human element. In 2010, we conducted training for all of our 
Customer Service Managers to better enable them to achieve customer service 
goals in their respective districts. We launched a “Voice of the Business Cus-
tomer” project in order to better understand and prioritize the needs of business 
customers and ensure that these needs are being met. We continued to expand 
our mobile workforce project, which provides field employees direct access to 
customer information, resulting in faster, more  
efficient response to customer needs. And for those customers who prefer  
a computer experience over face-to-face contact, we began implementing  
a self-service option on our web site that will enable customers to initiate  
a service order online at their convenience.

334,717                  06

We Are Here, Developing Our People

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. To provide the best customer  
service, we need the best and most skilled people. We start by offering competi-
tive salary and benefits packages, but it certainly doesn’t end there.  

2010 Annual Report / 28

In 2010, we implemented a management development program and  
developed a management trainee program to supplement our ongoing training 
and tuition reimbursement programs. We also created a Business Intelligence 
information system that ensures our people have easy and fast access to the 
key data they need to make the best management decisions. We expect every 
employee to make a difference in continuously improving customer service and 
efficiency, and we continue to provide skills development and tools  
to do just that.  

Like our employees, our directors contribute significantly to our success.  
In 2010, we lost a truly special and beloved board member with the passing of 
Dr. Ted Harris. We were fortunate to recruit an outstanding individual to our board 
who brings the critical public health perspective that we so valued in  
Dr. Harris. Highly accomplished in his field, Dr. Thomas M. Krummel is the Susan 
B. Ford Surgeon-in-Chief at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital  
at Stanford and Emile Holman Professor and Chair of the Department of  
Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. The Board of Directors also 
appointed Lester A. Snow, whose 30 years of experience in natural resources 
management includes service as the State Secretary for Natural Resources, Di-
rector of the California Department of Water Resources,  
Regional Director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Executive Director 
of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. Mr. Snow’s vast experience in the water 
profession will be invaluable as we continue to fulfill our responsibility  
for providing reliable, high-quality water to customers in California,  
Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii.  

As always, we thank you for your continued investment in California Water  
Service Group and wish you the best in the coming year.  

Peter C. Nelson 
President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Foy 
Chairman of the Board

Hawaii Operations/Customer Centers

We serve 
We serve 
customers in  
customers in  
more than 100  
more than 100  
communities.
communities.

And each one of them is unique. We serve cowboys and surfers, entrepreneurs  
and homemakers. We are in big cities and small towns, beach communities  
and deserts.  

We support cherry festivals and little leagues, rodeos and art shows. But whatever their 
differences, these communities have one thing in common: they all need  
water to thrive. And that’s where we come in. That’s why we’re here. 

Washington Operations/Customer Centers

(Maui)  Ka’anapali  • (Hawaii)  Waikoloa

Serving the communities of Ka’anapali, Pukalani,  

Waimea, Waikoloa, North Kona Coast, and Kohala  

Coast on the islands of Maui and Hawaii.

Regulated Customer Connections

4,200*  09

4,200*  10

* Includes several large resorts  
   and condominium complexes

Olympia (S.W. Regional Office) • 

Gig Harbor (N.W. Regional Office and  

Customer Center) • Sequim • Issaquah •  

Orcas Island (Field Offices)

Serving more than 425 neighborhoods and small  

communities in the counties of Clallam, Jefferson,  

Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, King, San Juan, and Thurston.

Regulated Customer Connections

15,600   09

15,700   10

Antelope Valley • Bakersfield • Bear Gulch • Chico •
Commerce • Dixon • Dominguez • East Los Angeles • Haw-
thorne • Hermosa-Redondo • Kern River Valley • 
King City • Livermore • Los Altos •  Marysville • 
Mid-Peninsula • Oroville • Palos Verdes • Redwood 
Valley • Salinas • Selma • South San Francisco • 
Stockton • Visalia • Westlake • Willows

Customer Connections*

467,100   09

470,200   10

* Numbers include Hawthorne  
   and Commerce lease agreements

California Districts

California Districts  
& Communities 

Antelope Valley • Fremont Valley, Lake Hughes, Lancaster & Leona Valley  

Bakersfield 

Bear Gulch • Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley & a portion of Menlo Park 

Chico • Hamilton City 

Commerce (lease agreement) 

Dixon 

Dominguez • Carson & portions of Compton, Harbor City, Long Beach,

Los Angeles County & Torrance 

East Los Angeles • Portions of Montebello, Commerce, Monterey Park & Vernon 

Hawthorne (lease agreement) 

Hermosa-Redondo • Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach & a portion of Torrance 

Kern River Valley • Bodfish, Kernville, Lakeland, Mountain Shadows, Onyx, 

Squirrel Valley, South Lake & Wofford Heights 

King City 

Livermore 

Los Altos • Portions of Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View & Sunnyvale 

New Mexico Operations/Customer Centers

Marysville 

2010 Annual Report / 33

2010 

2009

1,400 

67,600 

18,800 

 27,900 

1,200 

2,900 

33,800 

26,700 

6,200 

26,600 

4,300 

2,500 

 18,300 

 18,700 

 3,700 

1,400     

66,900

18,600                

27,700          

1,200

2,800

33,700                   

26,600         

6,200

26,500

4,300

2,500

18,200

18,700             

 3,700

Elephant Butte • Belen • Cedar Crest

Serving the communitites of Meadow Lake, Cypress Gar-

dens, Rio Communities, Rio Del Oro, Elephant Butte, Sandia 

Knolls, and Cedar Crest in the counties of Sierra, Valencia, 

and Bernalillo.

Regulated Customer Connections

7,800  09

7,800  10

Mid-Peninsula • San Mateo & San Carlos 

Oroville 

Palos Verdes • Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills

36,400 

 36,200   

3,600 

3,600

& Rolling Hills Estates 

24,100 

24,000     

Redwood Valley • Lucerne & portions of Duncans Mills, Guerneville, 

Dillon Beach, Noel Heights & Santa Rosa 

Salinas 

Selma 

South San Francisco • Colma & Broadmoor  

Stockton 

Visalia 

Westlake • Westlake Village & a portion of Thousand Oaks 

Willows 

2,000 

 28,000 

6,100 

16,900 

 42,800 

40,300 

7,000 

2,400 

2,000   

27,900

6,000

16,800

42,400

 39,800

 7,000               

2,400 

                                                                                
 
Eight-Year Financial Review  

2010 Annual Report / 35

(Dollars in thousands, except common share and other data)  

 2010 

          2009 

2008 

 2007 

2006 

2005 

2004  

2003

Summary of Operations 

Operating revenue 

Operating expenses 

Interest expense, other income and expenses, net 

                           24,157 

Net income 

Common Share Data 

 $37,656  

$460,399 

  $449,372  

$410,312  

$367,082 

$334,717 

$320,728 

$315,567  

 $277,128    

398,586 

391,253  

17,565  

$40,554  

352,843 

17,664 

 322,912 

13,011 

 $39,805   

$31,159  

294,411 

14,726 

$25,580 

278,903 

14,602  

 $27,223  

273,488  

16,053  

 $26,026  

244,167    

13,544    

 $19,417    

Earnings per share - diluted 

                                                                $1.81  

        $1.95  

                            $1.90 

Dividend declared  

                                                                            1.190 

Dividend payout ratio 

                                                                               66% 

        1.180 

          61% 

                            1.170 

                              62% 

        77% 

          86% 

Book value 

                                                                                       $20.91  

     $20.26  

                          $19.44 

Market price at year-end 

                                                                            37.27 

        36.82 

                            46.43 

Common shares outstanding at year-end (in thousands) 

                            20,833  

      20,765  

                          20,723 

Return on average common stockholders’ equity 

                                           9.0% 

           9.8% 

                            10.2% 

Long-term debt interest coverage 

                                                       3.59  

          4.04  

                              4.72  

$18.66 

37.02 

20,666 

       8.1% 

       3.70  

 $1.50 

 1.160 

 $1.34  

1.150 

$18.31 

 40.40 

  $1.47  

1.140 

 78% 

$15.98  

  38.23 

$1.46  

1.130  

77%  

 $15.66  

 37.65  

18,367  

  20,657  

        18,390  

         8.2% 

           9.3% 

             9.8%    

          3.17  

            3.61  

             3.38  

               2.78   

$1.21   

1.125   

93% 

$14.44    

27.40    

16,932    

  9.1% 

Balance Sheet Data 

Net utility plant 

                                                                               $1,294,297 

 $1,198,077  

 $1,112,367 

$1,010,196  

  $941,475 

 $862,731  

$800,305  

$759,498      

Total assets 

Long-term debt, including current portion 

Capitalization ratios: 

1,692,066 

1,525,581 

481,561 

387,222  

1,418,107 

1,184,499 

1,165,019 

290,316 

 291,921  

293,592 

996,945 

275,275  

  942,853  

275,921  

873,035    

273,130    

  Common stockholders’ equity 

                                                                47.5% 

        52.1% 

                           58.1% 

  Preferred stock 

  Long-term debt 

Other Data 

                                                                                0 % 

                                                                            52.5% 

            0 % 

        47.9% 

                                0% 

                           41.9% 

     56.9% 

       0.5% 

     42.6% 

       56.0% 

         51.4% 

           50.8%  

         0.5% 

           0.6% 

             0.6%  

       43.5% 

         48.0% 

           48.6%  

 47.0% 

 0.7% 

 52.3% 

Water production (million gallons) 

 121,942  

131,558  

137,757 

Customers at year-end, including Hawthorne and Commerce 

              497,900  

 494,700  

                        490,500 

New customers added 

                                                                            3,200  

        4,200  

                            2,900  

Revenue per customer 

                                                                             $925  

         $908  

                             $837  

Utility plant per customer 

                                                                3,706  

        3,455  

                            3,228  

Employees at year-end 

                                                                             1,127  

        1,013  

                               929  

141,238 

487,600 

     3,707 

      $753 

     2,968  

        891  

132,414 

483,893  

4,892  

 $692  

2,778  

  129,453 

  479,001  

139,039  

473,155  

         5,846  

           6,733  

           $670  

            $667  

         2,578  

           2,418  

 131,680    

 466,422    

 7,434   

 $594   

 2,313    

           869  

             840  

              837  

                 813   

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Board of Directors

2010 Annual Report / 37

Peter C. Nelson
President and  

Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Foy
Chairman of the Board

15 years served as a Board  

34 years served as a Board  

Member. Member of the 

Executive Committee.

Member. Member of the 

Executive Committee.

Douglas M. Brown
Dean, Anderson School of  

Business, University of  

New Mexico

10 years served as a Board  

Member. Member of the following  

Committees: Audit, Executive,  

Finance/Risk Management, 

and Nominating/Corporate 

Governance.

Edwin A. Guiles
Former Executive Vice President  

Bonnie G. Hill
President of  

of Corporate Development,  

B. Hill Enterprises, L.L.C.

Sempra Energy

Richard P. Magnuson
Private Venture Capital Investor

3 years served as a Board  

8 years served as a Board 

Member. Member of the following  

Member. Member of the following  

Member. Member of the following  

Committees: Audit, Organization/ 

Committees: Organization/ 

Committees: Organization/ 

Compensation, Executive, Finance/ 

Compensation, Finance/Risk  

Compensation and Nominating/ 

Risk Management, and Nominating/

Management, and Audit.

Corporate Governance.

Corporate Governance.

15 years served as a Board  

George A. Vera
Vice President and  

Chief Financial Officer,  

Thomas M. Krummel, M.D.
Professor and Chair, Surgery  

Linda R. Meier
Member of the National Board  

Department, Stanford University  

of the Institute of International  

the David and Lucile Packard  

School of Medicine

Education

Foundation

13 years served as a Board  

Member. Member of the following  

17 years served as a Board  

Member. Member of the following  

Committees: Audit, Finance/Risk  

1 year served as a Board Member. 

Committees: Audit, Executive,  

Management, and Nominating/ 

Member of the Nominating/Corporate 

Organization/Compensation, and  

Corporate Governance.

Governance Committee.

Nominating/Corporate Governance.

2010 Annual Report / 38

Officers

California Water Service Company

Peter C. Nelson 1, 2, 3 
President and Chief Executive Officer

Paul G. Ekstrom
Vice President, Customer Service, 
Human Resources, and Information Technology

Francis S. Ferraro 2, 4
Vice President, Corporate Development

Robert R. Guzzetta 2
Vice President, Operations

Martin A. Kropelnicki 1, 2, 3 
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer  
and Treasurer

Christine L. McFarlane 3

Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer

Michael J. Rossi 2, 3
Vice President, Engineering  
and Water Quality

Thomas F. Smegal III 4
Vice President, Regulatory Matters 
and Corporate Relations

Calvin L. Breed  1, 2, 3
Controller, Assistant Secretary  
and Assistant Treasurer

Lynne P. McGhee 1, 2, 3
Corporate Secretary

Washington Water Service Company

Michael P. Ireland
President

1 Holds the same position with California Water Service Group.
2 Also an officer of CWS Utility Services.
3 Also an officer of Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, and Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc.

4 Holds the same position with New Mexico Water Service Company and Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc.