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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.2

          EXPLANATION CONCERNING ABSENCE OF CURRENT WRITTEN CONSENT OF
                              ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP

Section 11(a) of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended (the "Securities Act"),
provides that if any part of a registration statement at the time such part
becomes effective contains an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading, any person acquiring a security pursuant to
such registration statement (unless it is proved that at the time of such
acquisition such person knew of such untruth or omission) may sue, among others,
every accountant who has consented to be named as having prepared or certified
any part of the registration statement, or as having prepared or certified any
report or valuation which is used in connection with the registration statement,
with respect to the statement in such registration statement, report or
valuation which purports to have been prepared or certified by the accountant.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference into the
Registration Statements File Nos. 33-53211, 333-94525, 333-51702 and 333-88554
on Form S-8 (collectively, the "Registration Statements") of Connecticut Water
Service, Inc. (the "Company") and, for purposes of determining any liability
under the Securities Act, is deemed to be a new registration statement for each
Registration Statement into which it is incorporated by reference.

As recommended by the Company's Audit Committee, the Company's Board of
Directors on June 18, 2002 decided to dismiss Arthur Andersen LLP ("Andersen")
as the Company's independent accountants. See the Company's Current Report on
Form 8-K filed June 20, 2002 for more information. After reasonable efforts, the
Company has been unable to obtain Andersen's written consent to the
incorporation by reference into the Registration Statements of its audit reports
with respect to the Company's financial statements as of and for the fiscal
years ended December 31, 2001 and 2000, though Andersen did consent on February
8, 2002 to the incorporation by reference of its audit report contained in the
filing of the Company on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001.

Under these circumstances, Rule 437a under the Securities Act permits the
Company to file this Form 10-K without a written consent from Andersen. However,
as a result, with respect to transactions in the Company securities pursuant to
the Registration Statements that occur subsequent to the date this Annual Report
on Form 10-K is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Andersen may
not have any liability under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act for any untrue
statements of a material fact contained in the financial statements audited by
Andersen or any omissions of a material fact required to be stated therein.
Accordingly, you may be unable to assert a claim against Andersen under Section
11(a) of the Securities Act because it has not consented to the incorporation by
reference of its previously issued reports into the Registration Statements. To
the extent provided in Section 11(b)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, however, other
persons who may become liable under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act,
including the Company's officers and directors, may still rely on Andersen's



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original audit reports as being made by an expert for purposes of establishing a
due diligence defense under Section 11(b) of the Securities Act.

The following is a copy of Arthur Andersen's consent which was filed in
connection with Connecticut Water Service, Inc.'s Form 10-K on March 25, 2002.
This consent has not been reissued by Arthur Andersen.

                    CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

As independent public accountants, we hereby consent to the incorporation of our
reports included in this Form 10-K, into the Company's previously filed
Registration Statements File Nos. 33-53211, and 333-54418.

/s/  Arthur Andersen LLP
Hartford, Connecticut
March 21, 2002