GetWaterWiseBuffalo.org is a website run by Buffalo Water ("we", "us", "our"). This Privacy Policy describes how the GetWaterWiseBuffalo.org website (the "Site") collects, uses, and protects your personal information. By submitting your personal information on the Site, you agree to the terms in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the Site. You can go to buffalowater.org to apply for the Residential Affordable Water Program.
Overview
We will only use your personal information to:
Help you get and keep Residential Affordable Water Program benefits and any other Pathways To Affordable Water program benefits that you apply for on future versions of the Site ("GetWaterWiseBuffalo.org" herein refers to all such programs).
Suggest other services or assistance programs that may be useful to you. We will only use your personal information in order to present those services or programs to you as an option but will never send your personal information to any other services or programs without your permission.
We will not knowingly disclose or sell your personal information to any third party, except as provided in this privacy policy.
We will take all reasonable measures to protect your personal information.
The personal information we collect
We collect all information that you provide through the Site, including your name, address, contact information, financial information, and similar information for other individuals that you include on your Residential Affordable Water Program application (the "Application"). We also collect and store copies of any documents you upload, like pictures of your pay stubs, rent receipts, etc. We do not store any of this information unless you electronically sign your Application and click 'Submit Application' at the end.
We use this information to understand how the Site is used, improve the Site, and monitor usage for security purposes. This data is stored separately from the personal information you submit in the Application.
We will not collect personal information from you without your knowledge and consent, except in a few limited circumstances as described in this policy.
We currently retain all data indefinitely unless you specifically request that we delete it. You can make this request by emailing us at hello@getwaterwisebuffalo.org
How we use your information
We only use your personal information to help you receive assistance on your water bill. For example:
We submit your Application to Buffalo Water.
We may remind you to submit documents, depending on your contact preferences.
We will send you a confirmation message when we have successfully submitted your Application information to Buffalo Water. We may also send you a message if there is a problem submitting your information to Buffalo Water and additional information is needed. Outside of those cases:
We will not send you an email unless you consent to email communication in the application or you email us first. Every automated email will include a link to unsubscribe.
How we share your information
Once you submit your Application on the Site, we share this information with Buffalo Water.
We also disclose your personal information to Buffalo Water employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations that need to know the information in order to provide the services of the Site.
Besides individuals affiliated with the Site, we do not share your personal information with any other individuals or organizations, except to the minimal extent required by law.
How we protect your information
Protecting your personal information is extremely important to us, and we take all reasonable measures to do so. Here are some specific security practices we use:
When you enter your information on our site, we encrypt the transmission of that information using transport layer security (TLS).
We store your Application information and documents on Microsoft Azure which is a trusted third party data storage service. For more information on Microsoft Azure, see: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/.
Although we try our best to protect the privacy of your personal information, we cannot guarantee complete security. The transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.
Changes
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Please check this page frequently for updates as your continued use of this site after any changes in this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of the changes.
Effective Date
This version of the policy is effective August 1, 2023.
Questions
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or complaints with the Site, please contact us by email at hello@getwaterwisebuffalo.org.
We will do our best to resolve the issue.