<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Dian C. Taylor certify that:

1.      I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended
        December 31, 2004 of Artesian Resources Corporation (this "Report");

2.      Based on my knowledge, this Report does not contain any untrue statement
        of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
        the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
        statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered
        by this Report;

3.      Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
        information included in this Report, fairly present in all material
        respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
        of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this Report;

4.      The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
        establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
        defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15e and 15d-15e) for the registrant
        and have:

                a)      Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
                        caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
                        designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
                        information relating to the registrant, including its
                        consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                        within those entities, particularly during the period in
                        which this Report is being prepared;

                b)      Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
                        disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
                        Report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
                        disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
                        period covered by this Report based on such evaluation;
                        and

                c)      Disclosed in this Report any change in the registrant's
                        internal control over financial reporting that occurred
                        during the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter that has
                        materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
                        materially affect, the registrant's internal control
                        over financial reporting; and

5.      The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
        on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
        reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of
        registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
        function):

                a)      All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in
                        the design or operation of internal control over
                        financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
                        adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
                        process, summarize and report financial information; and

                b)      Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                        management or other employees who have a significant
                        role in the registrant's internal control over financial
                        reporting.

Date: March 30, 2005                          /s/ DIAN C. TAYLOR
                                              Dian C. Taylor
                                              Chief Executive Officer (Principal
                                              Executive Officer)