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San Jose Water Announces Community Donations of nearly 225k in 2019

The company continues to enhance its commitment to supplier diversity. San Jose Water was also the recipient of four prestigious public outreach awards.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan 22, 2020 – San Jose Water (“SJW” or “the Company”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJW Group (NYSE: SJW), announced today that it donated nearly $225,000 to local non-profits, community organizations, and other philanthropic entities in 2019, a 34% increase over 2018. Monetary donations are funded by Company shareholders.

Supporting local organizations with financial contributions and employee volunteer time are the foundation of the company’s ongoing commitment to improving quality of life in the communities it serves.

Overall, 2019 was a banner year for SJW’s community outreach, with a 40% increase in participation as compared to 2018. This included being involved in such local events such as: Bark in the Park, Cupertino Diwali Festival, Water Awareness Night with the San Jose Giants, the Guadalupe River Run, Thanksgiving in January supporting Martha’s Kitchen, and Water Appreciation Night at San Jose State’s Homecoming football game. Employee volunteers do everything from preparing and serving meals, to building fences, and providing critical home repairs to needy communities. The Company intends to continue its level of participation and support throughout 2020.

The Company has also furthered its commitment to employee volunteerism by expanding its Ambassador Program. This includes a group of nearly 40 employees committed to sharing the value of water service with the public. New outreach efforts in 2019 included public tours of the Montevina Water Treatment Plant along with community open houses to help increase engagement with the community.

“SJW has been a part of this community for over 154 years.  We believe there can be no company without community and remain steadfast in our commitment to making a positive impact on the health and wellness in the communities where we live, work, and serve,” stated Andrew Gere, President and COO. “The great strides made in 2019 demonstrate this commitment along with our promise to deliver outstanding customer service and safe and reliable water service to the families and businesses that we serve.”

Supplier Diversity

SJW is also committed to continuous improvement of its Supplier Diversity Program in which the Company strives to work with Diverse Business Enterprises (DBEs) that reflect its community including Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) and Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) DBEs. Results include a 33% increase in the number of diverse suppliers utilized and a 10% increase in total money spend with those minority suppliers.

In 2019, SJW also initiated its Supplier Diversity Champions program. In the program, employees are encouraged to support the use of diverse suppliers in all areas of the company — from food vendors to construction companies.

Public Outreach Awards

SJW was honored to receive four MarCom community outreach awards for creative communications content produced in 2019. MarCom is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). The organization consists of several thousand marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, digital, and web professionals. SJW received Gold Awards for its Kids Educational Activity Booklet and resiliency program infographic. Two Honorable Mentions were received for a video about the Montevina Water Treatment Plant, and for the Summer 2019 water bill insert.

About San Jose Water

Founded in 1866, San Jose Water is an investor owned public utility, and is one of the largest and most technically sophisticated urban water systems in the United States. Serving over one million people in the greater San Jose metropolitan area, San Jose Water also provides services to other utilities including operations and maintenance, billing, and backflow testing. San Jose Water is owned by SJW Group, a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SJW. SJW Group also owns: Connecticut Water Company, Avon Water Company and Heritage Village Company in Connecticut; Maine Water Company in Maine; and SJWTX, Inc. (dba Canyon Lake Water Service Company) in Texas. To learn more about San Jose Water, visit: sjwater.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as believes, expects, may, will, should, seeks, approximately, intends, plans, estimates, projects, strategy, or anticipates, or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology. The accuracy of such statements is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, but not limited to, the following factors: (1) the effect of water, utility, environmental and other governmental policies and regulations, including actions concerning rates, authorized return on equity, authorized debt-to-equity ratios, capital expenditures and other decisions; (2) changes in demand for water and other products and services; (3) unanticipated weather conditions and changes in seasonality; (4) climate change and the effects thereof; (5) catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist acts, physical attacks, cyber-attacks, or other similar occurrences that could adversely affect our facilities, operations, financial condition, results of operations and reputation; (6) unexpected costs, charges or expenses; (7) our ability to successfully evaluate investments in new business and growth initiatives; (8) the risk of work stoppages, strikes and other labor-related actions; (9) changes in general economic, political, business and financial market conditions; (10) the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, changes in interest rates, compliance with regulatory requirements, compliance with the terms and conditions of our outstanding indebtedness, and general market and economic conditions; and (11) legislative and economic developments. Results for a quarter are not indicative of results for a full year due to seasonality and other factors. In addition, actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to our overall business, including those more fully described in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Contacts

Investors

Suzy Papazian, SJW Group

General Counsel and Vice President

408-279-7961, Suzy.Papazian@sjwater.com

Media

Liann Walborsky

Director of Corporate Communications

408-279-7247, Liann.Walborsky@sjwater.com