Privacy Policy
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You are invited to read this Privacy Policy carefully and to take note of its contents.
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Introduction
The Société wallonne des eaux (SWDE), (hereinafter "We" and "Us") ensures the respect of privacy and confidentiality of personal data. It complies with European legislation (the General Data Protection Regulation or "GDPR") and national legislation (the law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data).
This Privacy Policy has been drawn up in order to inform you about the personal data that the SWDE collects from its users via the Site or via other channels (for example via written or telephone feedback from the data subjects).
This Privacy Policy sets out what personal data We process, how, on what basis and for what purposes We collect, process, protect and share such personal data about you, the duration of the processing and the extent to which you will be able to control such data.
You are invited to read this Privacy Policy carefully and to take note of its contents. Future changes to this Privacy Policy cannot be ruled out. We therefore ask you to review the Privacy Policy from time to time to keep abreast of these changes.
This Privacy Policy applies to all subscribers or users who are natural persons as well as to customers, insofar as they are also natural persons, and in general to all persons who come into contact with SWDE (hereinafter "You" and "Your"). It also applies to visits to our offices, visits to the homes of our staff and visits to our websites.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the following terms shall have the meanings set out in the General Data Protection Regulation:
"Personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter referred to as "data subject"); an "identifiable natural person" is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier, such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to his or her physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity;
"Processing" means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data or sets of personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
"Controller" means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing operation; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by EU law or by the law of a Member State, the controller may be designated or the specific criteria for such designation may be laid down in EU law or in the law of a Member State;
The controller is the Société Wallonne des Eaux (SWDE), a civil company under public law in the form of a cooperative company, whose registered office is located at 4800 VERVIERS (Belgium), rue de la Concorde 41, and which is registered in the register of legal persons under number 0230.132.005.
Legal basis
The use of personal data is based on the Belgian Water Code (Code de l’eau).
The use of personal data may also be based on the consent you choose to give us when you voluntarily provide us with information.
Categories of personal data collected and processed
We collect personal information ("Personal Data") about our users in the following ways:
- By recording and sending information that you choose to enter on certain pages of the website. The information marked with the "*" symbol must be provided in order to allow us to carry out the processing operations for the purposes described below. Personal data collected directly from you includes your full name, date of birth, postal address, e-mail address, mobile phone or other number, any VAT number, bank account number or other information or contact details you submit to Us. We may also ask you for your comments, suggestions or other information relating to the Site, Our products or services, or Our company;
- Via a CertiBEAU certificate, compulsory since 1 June 2021 for all new buildings. which must be issued by an approved certifier and which you must submit to Us before your new building can come into service.
- Via the forms you complete;
- Via the information you provide over the phone.
Use of personal data
We only process personal data if it is necessary for specific purposes.
For example, we will use your personal data:
- To meet the legal requirements (in the broadest sense) to which we are subject;
- To manage our relationship with you;
- To respond to your direct requests to Us;
- To manage your use of the Site;
- To offer you free additional services (such as payment via direct debit, paperless billing);
- To manage your invoices;
- To liaise with the social support centres;
- For debt collection. Regarding debt collection, this concerns the data needed to recover debts, if necessary through insolvency proceedings or legal proceedings. In accordance with Article D.232. (Belgian Environmental Code Book 2. (Code de l’Environnement Livre 2.) — Belgian Water Code), "In the event of non-performance of the obligations, and in particular in the event of non-payment of the amounts owed to the distributor on the basis of the instalments and invoices provided for in Article 230 within the time periods provided for, the distributor shall recover its debt from the users and, where applicable, from the subscriber, as provided for in Article 233, by all legal means."
- The processing of certain sensitive data is prohibited, as in the case of the data subject's state of health. However, it is permissible to include information in the database about a person who is on home dialysis and who must therefore be informed as a matter of priority in the event of an interruption in the water supply. This is about safeguarding the health of the person undergoing dialysis at home.
We may combine the personal data you submit with other data about you that We have obtained from other sources for the same purpose, including if you have given Us this information in other places or through other means, such as on other websites. The sources in question may be the following:
- Hospitals for people undergoing dialysis at home;
- ORES s.c.r.l. via the "Connect My Home" platform. ORES synchronises and has all the "fluid" connections (electricity, gas, water), cables and telecoms for new buildings carried out at the request of customers, in a single operation, in collaboration with the other operators;
We will not use your personal data for any new purpose not already covered by this Privacy Policy, except as permitted by applicable law or with your consent. In any event, prior to using your personal data for other purposes, We will inform you of the changes to this Privacy Policy, and in the case of consent-based activities, We will not process your personal data for new purposes without first obtaining your explicit consent.
Sensitive personal data
We do not collect or process any particular category of personal data about you unless you have explicitly provided such data to Us. The special categories of personal data are referred to as "sensitive" personal data and include information relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, health, sex life or sexual orientation, suspicions, commission or suspected commission of an offence, criminal or administrative proceedings or convictions.
Hospitals do, however, inform us of the identity of people who are undergoing dialysis at home so that we can inform them as a matter of priority if the water supply is interrupted.
Processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes
We will not process your personal data for marketing purposes without your prior explicit consent.
Automated decision-making
We will not use automated decision-making processes, including profiling, except as permitted by applicable law. In this case, we will inform you of the logic behind the decision and the significance and intended consequences of such processing for you.
Transfer of personal data to third parties
We will not make your personal data available to third parties and will not publicly disclose personal data unless such transfers are (i) based on your explicit consent, (ii) necessary for the performance of a contract between you and Us, or (iii) permitted or required by law or by order of a public authority or judicial authority.
We transfer your personal data to the following recipients:
- Collection company;
- Mail management company;
- Call centre company;
- Printing company;
- Company in charge of conducting satisfaction surveys;
- Walloon Region (Ministry of Housing): in accordance with the Walloon Government Decree of 19 January 2022 relating to the establishment and management of data relating to the minimum water and electricity consumption that can be considered for unoccupied housing under Article 80, section 3, of the Walloon Sustainable Housing Code, each year, the SWDE must pass to the relevant municipality the list of dwellings in the territory of the municipalities registered for which the water consumption is lower than the minimum annual consumption set by the Government – currently 15 m3, inclusive. This list mentions: the address of the dwelling and the water consumption for a period of at least twelve consecutive months, determined either on the basis of a meter reading and meter numbers or estimated on the basis of the available indices.
- Social support centres (Any consumer who may be eligible for benefits can receive financial support with paying their water bills. This support is based on a fund known as the "Social Water Fund". This fund is provided for in Articles 234 to 251 of the Belgian Environmental Code, Book 2. — Belgian Water Code);
- SPGE (Public Water Management Company), particularly in the context of the public management of household sanitation, in accordance with the data framework protocol concluded on 12 May 2021 between the SPGE and the SWDE;
- Public bodies/authorities.
Please note that where a transfer involves the transmission of your personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area that are not considered by the European Commission to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data, we will ensure that appropriate measures are put in place in accordance with applicable national and European data protection legislation.
Using the "itsme" service
The use of the "itsme" service requires the collection of your National Register number. This will not be used for any other purpose and will be deleted at the end of each of your uses of "itsme". The SWDE is not intended to store NR numbers or copies – both front and reverse – of identity cards.
Sharing on social networks
We use a social plug-in to allow you to share information from the website on Twitter and YouTube via the "Share" buttons.
For reasons of data privacy, we have deliberately declined to use direct social network plug-ins on our website. Instead, we use an alternative technical solution that allows you to decide if and when you want to pass on data to social network operators. This means that when you visit the website, data is never automatically transmitted to a social network. Only when you click on the corresponding button yourself will your browser connect to the servers of the social network, i.e. by clicking on the items and then clicking on the social network icon, this indicates your consent to your browser connecting to the servers of the social network and sending usage data to the operator of that social network, regardless of whether you are a subscriber to that particular social network.
We have no influence on the nature or scope of the data that social networks may subsequently collect. For more information on the purpose and scope of data collection, the processing and use of data by social networks and your privacy rights and relevant configuration settings, please see the privacy notices of the respective social networks.
Links to third-party websites
Some areas of this Site may contain links to third-party websites. While these links are provided for your convenience, please note that we have no control over third parties or their websites, and that these third parties have different privacy policies that apply to the information you submit when you visit these third-party websites. We recommend that you carefully read the privacy policies of all websites before submitting any personally identifiable information.
Storage time
We will retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described above or as required by law.
In any case, your Personal Data will be deleted within ten years of serving such purposes.
Data security and confidentiality
We use technical and organisational measures, in accordance with standard industry practice, to ensure an appropriate level of security for the personal data processed. Nevertheless, security requires the efforts of all parties involved. We therefore encourage you to support these efforts by taking appropriate security measures yourself, including using strong passwords and keeping all usernames and passwords (if applicable) confidential.
We train our staff in the proper use of confidential data.
In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of an individual, this shall be communicated personally to the data subject, describing in clear and simple terms the nature of the personal data breach and containing a contact point from which further information can be obtained, as well as the likely consequences of the breach and the measures taken or proposed to be taken by the controller in relation to it.
In this case, the controller shall notify the Data Protection Authority of the breach in question as soon as possible and, if possible, no later than 72 hours after becoming aware of it, unless the breach in question is not likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
Children on the Site
The content of this Site is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect information from these individuals. If you believe that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact customer services.
Your rights
You have the right to request access to your personal data, as collected and processed by Us, and to request the rectification or erasure (if any) of your personal data if it is incorrect or unnecessary, as well as the restriction of processing (if any), the right to object to processing (if any) and the right to data portability (if any).
To exercise your rights, please contact customer services or exercise your rights via the customer area of our website.
If your request has not been satisfied, please send Us a written and signed request with a copy of your identity card or other identification document proving that you are the user concerned by the personal data to the e-mail address plaintes@swde.be or in writing to the following postal address: rue de la Concorde, 41, 4800 Verviers, for the attention of our Data Protection Officer.
We will respond to your request as soon as possible and within one month at the latest. This period starts from the receipt by the data controller of the written request and of all relevant and necessary information.
Where applicable, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent prior to such withdrawal.
As a data subject, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (in particular in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the breach) if you consider that the processing of your personal data violates the applicable personal data regulation.
Cookies
We use various cookies on our website to improve the interactivity not only of the website but also of our e-Services.
What is a "cookie"?
A "cookie" is a small text file in alphanumeric format placed on your hard drive by the SWDE server. It generally allows us to recognise you the next time you visit our website.
Three types of cookies are placed on the SWDE website:
1. Internal cookies necessary for the site to function
These cookies allow the site to function optimally. You can object to this and remove them using your browser settings. However, there is a risk that navigation will be impaired.
| Name of cookie | Retention period |
|---|---|
| LANGUAGE | 1 year |
| Stores the visitor's language preferences | |
| SSESS | 1 month |
| Session cookie (for logged-in users) | |
| Dismissible_message_bar | 13 months |
| Remembers whether the user has closed an alert message | |
| OptanonAlertBoxClosed | 13 months |
| Stores the visitor's preferences regarding cookies (Cookiepro) | |
| OptanonConsent | 13 months |
| Stores the visitor's preferences regarding cookies (Cookiepro) | |
| swdepass | 1 year |
| Cookie used to store the "remember me" password in e-Services | |
| swdeusername | 1 year |
| Cookie used to register the user name in e-Services | |
| Ume.logon.locale | 1 year |
| Cookie used to register the logon language in e-Services | |
2. Cookies for audience measurement
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
In order to tailor the site to the needs of our visitors, we measure the number of visits, the number of pages viewed, the activity of visitors on the site and the frequency of their visits. Google Analytics is the statistical tool used by SWDE.
These cookies, owned by Google Analytics, will collect your IP address to determine the city/location from which you are connecting. After using these cookies, Google Analytics will make your IP address anonymous. No information related to these cookies is transferred to other third parties or used for other purposes.
You can manage your preferences for these cookies via our cookie manager. You can also choose to decline cookies and statistical analysis of your browsing data more generally via the opt-out procedure available here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en
| Name of cookie | Retention period |
|---|---|
| _GA, _GID | 2 years, 24 hours |
| Distinguishes visitors by assigning them a randomly generated number as an identifier | |
| _GAT, __UTMT | 1 minute, 10 minutes |
| Reduces the load level by identifying the browser | |
| __UTMA, __UTMB | 2 years after last update, 30 minutes after last update |
|
Distinguishes between visitors and sessions. They are updated each time data is sent to Google Analytics. The __utma cookie is also used to calculate statistics on new and repeat visitors. |
|
| __UTMZ | 6 months after last update |
| Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the visitor reached the site. This cookie is updated each time data is sent to Google Analytics. | |
| __UTMC | Expires at the end of the session |
| It is designed to allow interoperability with the older version of the Google Analytics code known as Urchin | |
HOTJAR
SWDE also uses Hotjar to detect any problems with usability, to better understand the needs of visitors and to optimise the browsing experience. This tool also allows for online surveys and polls that visitors can choose to complete. These cookies, owned by Hotjar, will not collect personal data from visitors, with the exception of surveys and polls where visitors may give their consent to the collection of personal data.
In addition to your prior consent, you may choose to opt-out of cookies and statistical analysis of your browsing data more generally via the opt-out procedure available via this link https://www.hotjar.com/legal/compliance/opt-out.
If you give your consent, Hotjar may use the following cookies:
| Name of cookie | Retention period |
|---|---|
| _GAEXP | 71 days |
| Google Analytics uses this cookie to determine whether visitors are participating in its marketing experiences. | |
| _GCL_AU | 3 months |
| This cookie is used by Google AdSense to measure the effectiveness of advertising on websites that use its services. | |
| AJS_ANONYMOUS_ID | 1 year |
|
The information collected allows us to know if a visitor has visited the website before and to count the number of visits. |
|
| AJD_GROUP_ID | 1 year |
| This cookie is used to determine whether a visitor is logged in and to aggregate visits from different website visitors. | |
| AJS_VISITOR_ID | 1 year |
| Collection of website usage data (targeting/advertising). | |
| AMPLITUDE_ID | 10 years |
| This cookie uses a system of three identifiers to track visitors: the device identifier, the visitor identifier and the Amplitude cookie identifier. First, the Amplitude cookie collects the device ID and visitor ID, and then generates an Amplitude ID, which is the ID used to track unique visitors across the platform. The Amplitude cookie identifier stores all events (interactions with content) performed by anonymous visitors. | |
| _HSSRC , _HSTC, HSFIRSTVISIT, HUBSPOTUTK, MESSAGE UTK | 13 months |
| These HubSpot cookies are set by Hotjar to track visitor's visits to websites and record the identity of the visitor. The utk cookie is also used to recognise visitors who chat via a chat stream tool. | |
| INTERCOM-* | 9 months |
| This cookie configured by Intercom is set by Hotjar for its real-time chat system. This cookie is used to store visitor information in an anonymous way. | |
| MP_*, MP_HJ_MIXPANEL | 1 year |
| This Mixpanel cookie is set by Hotjar to track the visitor and collect information about how they use the site. | |
| _FBP | 3 months |
| This Facebook cookie is set by Hotjar to provide a range of advertising products such as real-time offers from third-party advertisers. | |
3. Cookies to improve site interactivity
The SWDE website uses third-party services to enhance the interactivity of its site.
Cookies are set directly by third-party services. On your first visit you will be asked whether or not you wish to give your consent to the use of these cookies. They will only be set on your device if you accept them. You can set your preferences at any time via the cookie manager available in the menu at the bottom of the page.
YOUTUBE
YouTube may store the following cookies from any visitor who watches an embedded video on a web page:
| Name of cookie | Retention period |
|---|---|
| CONSENT | 20 years |
| Records visitors' acceptance of cookies used by the service | |
| _GA | 2 years |
| Analytics cookie used by YouTube to obtain statistics on how visitors use our website. | |
| APISID, ENABLEDAPPS.UPLOADER, HSID, LOGIN_INFO, SAPISID, SID, SSID, GEUP, PREF, VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC | 2 years / 1 month / 2 years / 2 years / 2 years / 2 years / 2 years / 13 months / 2 years / 6 months |
|
A set of cookies used by YouTube to collect information about visitor behaviour in relation to embedded videos. |
|
GOOGLE RECAPTCHA
The Google reCAPTCHA service, owned by Google, is used to protect our website from spam and abusive traffic. The placement of these cookies on your device is subject to your prior consent. For more information, visit the site: https://policies.google.com/technologies/types?hl=en
If you give your consent, the cookies identified below may be stored in your browser:
| Name of cookie | Retention period |
|---|---|
| _ga et _gid | 2 years / 24 hours |
| Analytical cookies used by Google services via Google reCAPTCHA to distinguish visitors and generate statistical data. | |
| 1P_JAR, AID, TAID, PAIDCONTENT | 13 months / 18 months / 14 days / 2 months |
| Advertising cookies used by Google services via Google reCAPTCHA to track visitor behaviour and provide targeted advertising. | |
| S, SSID, SNID, SID, SIDCC, SAPISID, NID, HSID, OGP, OGPC, CGIC, PL_GACID, WMC, OTZ, DV | La durée de la session / 2 years / 1 year / 2 years / 15 months / 2 years / 27 months / 2 years / 6 months / 6 months |
|
Performance cookies used by Google to store information such as visitor preferences and to assess the functionality of the Google reCAPTCHA module on websites. |
|
| CONSENT | 20 ans |
| Performance cookies used by Google to record visitors' acceptance of cookies used by its services. | |
Data Protection Officer
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer who can be contacted:
- by post : SWDE Data Protection Officer, rue de la Concorde, 41, 4800 Verviers
- by e-mail: dpo@swde.be
You may contact our Data Protection Officer for any questions regarding the processing of your personal data and the exercise of your rights under applicable national and European data protection legislation.
Effective date and amendments
This Privacy Policy was created and is effective as of 25 May 2018. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove parts of this Privacy Policy at any time. You should check this page periodically for the most current version of this Privacy Policy, as your use of this Site following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such changes.
Thank you for visiting this Site.
This Privacy Policy was updated on 1 August 2022.
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