ISELIN, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 03/31/08 -- Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ: MSEX) a leading provider of water, wastewater and related services in New Jersey and Delaware, has been named one of America's 100 most trustworthy publicly traded firms according to Audit Integrity, Inc., an independent Los Angeles firm that researches corporate governance best practices. Audit Integrity researched 8,000 public firms on the quality of their corporate integrity. The Audit Integrity Top 100 most trustworthy firms, reported by Forbes on March 27, 2008, are selected for persistent excellence in transparent financial reporting and conservative corporate governance.

Audit Integrity produces objective statistical reports which provide invaluable insight into the integrity of reported financial statements and corporate behavior. These results enable corporate stakeholders to evaluate and avoid the risks of potentially fraudulent or misleading accounting and corporate governance.

Middlesex is one of four utilities to make the Audit Integrity Top 100 list and ranks 6th among small-cap companies. Using financial and non-financial measures designed originally to monitor the factors associated with fraud or financial misrepresentation, Audit Integrity constructed an Accounting and Governance Risk (AGR) score for each of the 8,000 public companies surveyed. Middlesex Water achieved an AGR score of 86.

"The Middlesex Water family of companies -- Pinelands Water Company, Pinelands Wastewater Company, Utility Service Affiliates (Perth Amboy) Inc., Tidewater Utilities, Inc., Tidewater Environmental Services Inc., White Marsh Environmental Systems, Inc., and Utility Service Affiliates, Inc. -- is honored with such a high ranking on this prestigious list," said Dennis W. Doll, President and CEO of Middlesex Water Company. "Like most publicly traded firms, honest and ethical behavior by our employees, coupled with transparent communication with our customers and our shareholders, is the only way we know how to do business. We understand the critical importance of maintaining high standards of corporate integrity and take very seriously our continued commitment to strong corporate governance," said Doll.

Full details of the methodology used to determine the top 100 can be found at www.auditintegrity.com/methodology. Full details regarding the Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America can be found at http://www.forbes.com/.

About Middlesex Water Company

Middlesex Water Company, organized in 1897, provides regulated and unregulated water and wastewater utility services in New Jersey and Delaware through various subsidiary companies. For additional information regarding Middlesex Water Company, visit the Company's Web site at www.middlesexwater.com or call (732) 634-1500.

Contact:
Bernadette Sohler
Vice President - Corporate Affairs
Middlesex Water Company
1500 Ronson Road
Iselin, New Jersey 08830
www.middlesexwater.com