Aqua Web Site Privacy Practices
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. We are posting this Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) so you can know how and for what purposes your personal information is being collected, processed and used. Aqua will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information will only be used in ways that are in compliance with this Notice. This Notice is only in effect for any web pages, e-mail lists, collective non‑user-specific information and collective personal information collected on Aqua’s web sites, including but not limited to the www.aquaamerica.com web site, the Online Account Access features (the “Online Service”), as well as any online features, services and/or programs offered by Aqua (collectively, the “Web Site”). Your use of the Web Site is also governed by Aqua’s Web Site Terms and Conditions.
We will periodically update this web page with any changes to practices covered by this Notice and you are encouraged to review this Notice frequently (the date of the most recent revision appears at the end of this Notice). Aqua reserves the right to change these practices at its sole discretion.
Use of Information
Information collected by Aqua is used for three main purposes. First, we collect information to improve the Web Site by determining which of our areas, features and forums are most popular. Second, we collect information to personalize the experience of the users of the Web Site. For example, users of the Online Service and/or some of the other features of the Web Site are required to create a user account (“User Account”), user identification name (“UserID”) and password in order to access those features. Finally, we collect information to enable our users to participate in features, services, programs and/or other activities from time to time.
You should understand that any information that you post to any “public forum” portion of the Web Site, other than the Online Service, for any purpose and no matter of what nature or what medium or format, is considered to be a public disclosure and this Notice does not extend to cover any such information. Your UserID and the information that you deliver or post to any “public forum” portion of the Web Site are included in your posts and submissions, but only to the extent that you affirmatively transmit such information. You should be aware that whenever you voluntarily post information to any public forum, whether on any “public forum” portion of the Web Site or otherwise, the information that you post can be accessed, captured and stored by persons or entities other than Aqua and utilized to send you unsolicited communications of any form.
Aqua does not utilize its users email address or other personally identifiable information for commercial or marketing purposes without your consent except as part of a program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out. That being said, Aqua may use your email address without further consent for non-marketing or administrative purposes, for example to contact you regarding issues with your User Account.
In order to participate in many features, services and/or programs of the Web Site, we may require that you provide us with certain specific information, such as (as applicable) your full name, company information, mailing address, telephone number, e‑mail address, information about the Water or Wastewater accounts that you have with Aqua (“Account”), gender, personal interests and/or other information specific to you. You can choose whether or not to provide us with this information, but if you choose not to provide any required information, your experience on the Web Site may be diminished and some features may not be available or may not work as intended.
Aqua or a partner may sponsor promotions, sweepstakes or contests on the Web Site. Users may be asked to provide personal information including name, email address or home address or to answer questions in order to participate. Aqua may also transfer such information to certain advertising or marketing partners from whom you have consented to receive information.
Additional Ways that Information is Collected
Browser Log Files
Our servers automatically log each visitor to the Web Site and collect and record certain information about each visitor. This information includes your “Internet Protocol”, or IP, address, browser language, browser type, operating system, domain names, time spent browsing the site and, referring/exit web pages and URLs, and number of clicks.
Every computer connected to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers that serve as that computer’s IP address. When a user requests a web page from the Web Site, our web servers automatically recognize that user’s domain name and IP address. We may use this information to examine our traffic in the aggregate, but do not collect and evaluate this information for individuals. Our web servers do not automatically record e-mail addresses of users.
Cookies
From time to time, Aqua and/or our advertisers may send a “cookie” to your computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your Internet browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. A cookie, by itself, cannot read data from your hard disk or read cookie files created by other web sites. A cookie, by itself, does not damage your system. We may use cookies to identify and keep track of, among other things, those areas of the Web Site and third-party web sites that you have visited in the past in order to enhance your next visit to the Web Site. Our advertisers may also use cookies to ascertain how many times that you have seen an advertisement. We and our advertisers may use this information to better personalize the content, banners and promotions that you see on the Web Site. You can choose whether or not to accept cookies by changing the settings of your Internet browser. If you choose not to accept cookies, your experience on the Web Site may be diminished and some features may not be available or may not work as intended.
When Information Is Disclosed By Aqua
In addition to the other times or occasions on which we might disclose information about users of the Web Site, we disclose information when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to: (a) comply with a legal process and applicable laws; (b) conform with this Notice; (c) respond to claims that any materials, documents, images, graphics, logos, designs, audio, video and any other information provided from or on the Web Site violates the rights of third parties; or (d) protect the rights, property or personal safety of Aqua, its users or the public.
With respect to the Online Service, Aqua may disclose any information to third parties about you, including email addresses, or your Account, as follows:
- to verify the condition and existence of your Account for a third party, such as a credit bureau;
- to a consumer reporting agency as defined by Applicable Law;
- to Aqua employees, auditors, service providers, attorneys or collection agents in the course of their duties; or
- if you give Aqua written permission (including by email or other electronic acknowledgment of consent)
We use reasonable precautions to keep the information that is disclosed to us secure. We provide personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, or other businesses or persons for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information in compliance with our Privacy Practices, and we use reasonable efforts to limit their use of such information and to use other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
Aqua does not use customer email address or other personally identifiable information collected on the Web Site for commercial or marketing purposes without your consent except as part of a program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out.
We do share non-personally identifiable information (such as anonymous User usage data, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with third parties to demonstrate the usage patterns for Aqua’s advertisements, content, functionality promotions and/or services on the Web Site.
We also reserve the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information in connection with the enforcement of our Web Site Terms and Conditions, , to investigate and defend against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of the Web Site, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Aqua, our users or others.
We reserve the right to transfer your personally identifiable information, as well as any other information, in connection with the sale or other disposition of all or part of the Aqua business and/or assets. We also cannot make any representations regarding the use or transfer of your personally identifiable information or other information that we may have in the event of our bankruptcy, reorganization, insolvency, receivership or an assignment for the benefit of creditors. The Web Site also links to a wide variety of other web sites and the Web Site may contain advertisements of third parties. We are not and cannot be responsible for the privacy policies of those web sites of third parties or how they treat information about their users.
Use by Children
This Web Site is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 and does not market goods or services intended for use by children. Aqua does not knowingly market goods or services through this Web Site to children under 18 years of age. Aqua encourages parents not to allow children to provide information through any portion of this Web Site.
User Account
When you create a User Account, UserID and password on the Web Site, and when you participate in any of the features, services and/or programs offered through the Web Site, we may request your full name, company information, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, gender, personal interests and/or other relevant information specific to you. This information will allow us to create your User Account and provide you with information that we believe will be important and relevant to you. This information may also be used by us to notify you of features, services and/or programs that may be of interest to you.
Aqua will NEVER send you email requesting confidential information such as Account numbers, usernames, or passwords and you should NEVER respond to any email requesting such information. If you receive such an email purportedly from Aqua, do not respond to the email and notify Aqua by calling 1.877.WTR.AQUA or email custserv@aquaamerica.com
Whenever we collect personal information about you, we will make an effort to include a link to this Privacy Policy on that page.
Member Account, Password and Security
For certain features available through the Web Site, we require the use of encryption technologies provided for your protection and/or your use of a UserID and password after setting up a User Account. We use reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of your UserID, password and User Account information by utilizing a Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”) connection. Accordingly, your UserID, password and User Account information are encrypted using an SSL connection and are not expected to be read in an intelligible form as they travel to the Web Site. You, however, are ultimately responsible for protecting your UserID, password and User Account information from disclosure to third parties, and you are not permitted to circumvent the use of required encryption technologies. You are required to take reasonable precautions to safeguard your UserID and password. You agree to never leave your computer unattended while using the Online Service and to always exit the Online Service by clicking on “Log Out.” You also agree to immediately notify Aqua of any unauthorized use of your UserID, password and/or User Account, and/or any other breach of security by calling by calling 1.877.WTR.AQUA or email custserv@aquaamerica.com. or through the online message center (if applicable). You are solely responsible for any activity that occurs with respect to your User Account and UserID. While we provide certain encryption technologies and use other reasonable precautions to protect your confidential information and provide suitable security, we do not and cannot guarantee or warrant that information transmitted through the Internet is secure, or that such transmissions are free from delay, interruption, interception or error.
Privacy Practices of Linked Web Sites
The Web Site contains various links to other web sites, including links to various third-party service providers. Other than under agreements with certain reputable organizations and companies, and except for third party service providers whose services you voluntarily elect to utilize, we do not share any of the personal information that you provide to us with any of the web sites to which the Web Site links, although we may share aggregate, non-personally identifiable data with those other web sites. Please check with those web sites in order to determine their privacy policies and your rights under them.
Choices Regarding Your Personal Information
Whether you submit personally identifiable information to Aqua is entirely up to you. You may decide not to submit personally identifiable information through the Web Site, in which case Aqua may not be able to provide certain services to you, including the Online Service. You may update or correct your personal profile information and email preferences at any time by visiting your account profile at www.aquaamerica.com. Please note that any information that you post, upload or transmit to Aqua and/or the Web Site is subject to our Terms and Conditions www.aquaamerica.com.
Your Consent To This Privacy Policy
By using the Web Site, you consent to the collection and use of information by Aqua unless you inform us otherwise by means of the procedure identified below. If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will make an effort to post those changes on this web page so that you will always be able to understand what information we collect, how we use that information and under what circumstances we may disclose that information to others. Your use of the Web Site following any amendment of this Privacy Policy will signify your assent to and acceptance of its revised terms. We may use comments, information or feedback that you may submit in any manner that we may choose without notice or compensation to you.
If you have additional questions or comments of any kind, if you see anything on the Web Site that you think is inappropriate, please let us know by e-mail or by sending your comments or requests to:
Aqua
762 W. Lancaster Avenue
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010
Attn: Online Services – Web Site Issues
877.WTR.AQUA or 877.987.2782
custserv@aquaamerica.com
Copyright © 2020. Aqua America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EFFECTIVE AS OF: December 11, 2008
LAST UPDATED: March 16, 2020