Proposed Acquisition

Thames Water PLC
28 September 2000

                               THAMES WATER PLC
                               ----------------
                  PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF E'TOWN CORPORATION
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                     UPDATE ON REGULATORY APPROVAL PROCESS
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Following is the text of an announcement made by E'town this afternoon:
                                       
           STIPULATION APPROVING THAMES WATER ACQUISITION OF E'TOWN
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                             SIGNED BY ALL PARTIES
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WESTFIELD, N.J. (NYSE - ETW) - September 28, 2000 - A stipulation approving
the acquisition of E'town Corporation (E'town) by Thames Water Plc (Thames
Water) was signed yesterday by all of the parties to the petition requesting
the approval of the acquisition before the New Jersey Board of Public
Utilities (BPU). The BPU staff signed the stipulation after being authorized
to do so by the BPU Commissioners at their meeting yesterday. The acquisition
still requires formal approval of the signed stipulation by the BPU, which is
expected in October.

E'town anticipates that Thames Water will complete its acquisition of E'town
by the end of this year. Under the acquisition agreement, Thames Water has
agreed to acquire E'town for USD607 million, or USD68 per share, in cash.
Thames Water will also assume the net debt of E'town. On May 18, 2000 E'town
shareholders voted in favor of the agreement.

E'town operates in New Jersey and is one of the largest investor-owned water
utilities in the United States. E'town is made up of two regulated water
utilities (Elizabethtown Water Company and The Mount Holly Water Company), two
non-regulated contract operations (Liberty Water Company and Edison Water
Company), a regulated wastewater company (Applied Wastewater Management,
Inc.), an engineering/operations business (Applied Water Management, Inc.) and
a real estate company (E'town Properties, Inc.).