The purpose of this statement is to define the City of Los Angeles' Department of
Water and Power's (LADWP) policy with regards to the collection and use of personally
identifiable information (PII - any information relating to an identified or identifiable
individual who is the subject of the information).
Information Collected:
The LADWP collects two kinds of user information:
Anonymous information
Information that does not identify specific individuals and is automatically transmitted
by your browser. This information can consist of:
- The URL (Uniform Resource Locator or address) of the web page you previously visited
- The domain names and/or IP addresses which are numbers that are automatically assigned
to your computer whenever you are connected to the Internet or World Wide Web
- The browser version you are using to access the site
This information is used to help improve our web site. None of the information can
be linked to any individual.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Information that could include:
- Name
- Address
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Credit/debit card information
The LADWP will make every reasonable effort to protect your privacy. It restricts
access to your personal identifiable information to those employees that will respond
to your request. The LADWP does not intentionally disclose any personal information
about our users to any third parties inside or outside the LADWP except as required
by law. The LADWP only collects personally identifiable information that is required
to provide service. You can decline to provide us with any personal information
on any site on the Internet at any time. However, if you should choose to withhold
requested information, we may not be able to provide you with the online services
dependent upon the collection of that information.
Access to Personally Identifiable Information
Access to personally identifiable information in public records at state and local
levels of government in Los Angeles is controlled primarily by the California Public
Records Act (Government Code Section 6250, et seq.). Information that is generally
available under the Public Records Act may be posted for electronic access through
the LADWP web site. While the Public Records Act sets the general policies for access
to LADWP records, other sections of California code as well as federal laws also
deal with confidentiality issues.
E-mail Addresses
E-mail addresses obtained through the web site will not be sold or given to other
private companies for marketing purposes. The information collected is subject to
the access and confidentiality provisions of the Public Records Act, other applicable
sections of the California code as well as federal laws. E-mail or other information
requests sent to the LADWP web site may be maintained in order to respond to the
request, forward that request to the appropriate agency within the LADWP, communicate
updates to the LADWP page that may be of interest to citizens, or to provide the
LADWP web designer with valuable customer feedback to assist in improving the site.
Individuals can cancel any communications regarding new service updates at any time.
Cookies
Some LADWP applications use "cookies." A cookie is a small data file that certain
web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain
information such as a user id that the site uses to track the pages you have visited.
But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply
yourself. A cookie is only a text file and cannot read data off your hard disk or
read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies can track user traffic patterns,
recognize your computer's browser when you return, and could provide personalized
content without requiring sign-in. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in
your browser. However, they may be required to use some of the web applications
on the LADWP site.
Minor's Privacy Policy
Any information collected by any LADWP site from children under 13 are subject to
the same guidelines as the general LADWP privacy policy. In addition, the following
guidelines will be followed for any information collected by or for any child under
13:
- Information that could be collected from or for a minor includes but might not be
limited to name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, school, and hobbies.
- Parental (including legal guardian) Consent
- Parental consent will be obtained before collecting, using or disclosing personal
information about a child.
- If any information practices change in a "material" way, new consent will be obtained
from the parents. This includes changes in the kinds of material being collected,
a change in how that information is being used, or if there is a change in the third
parties that have access to that information.
- Parents will be able to review the personal information collected from their children
which includes verification of the identity of the requesting parent. See individual
requests for information for specifics.
- Parents will be allowed to revoke their consent and delete information collected
from or for their children on request. When consent is revoked, the website will
stop collecting, using or disclosing information from or for that child. Revocation
may end a child's participation in an activity if the information collected was
necessary for participation on the website.
- Additional information can be obtained at the FTC's Consumer Response Center (http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html)
and the Kidz Privacy (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html)
websites.
Security
The LADWP is committed to data security and the data quality of personally identifiable
information that is either available from or collected by our web site and has taken
reasonable precautions to protect such information from loss, misuse or alteration.
The LADWP operates "secure data networks" protected by industry standard firewalls
and password protection systems. Only authorized individuals have access to the
information provided by our users. When a LADWP application accepts credit cards
or any other particularly sensitive information for any of its services, it encrypts
all ordering information, such as your name and credit card number, in order to
protect its confidentiality.
Access to Your Information
Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation you will
be granted the ability to access and correct any personally identifiable information.
We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access to
review or make corrections to your information. Each LADWP service that collects
personally identifiable information will allow for review and update of that information.
See individual requests for information for specifics.
Non-LADWP Web Sites
Non-LADWP web sites may be linked through the LADWP web site. Many non-LADWP sites
may or may not be subject to the Public Records Act and may or may not be subject
to other sections of California Code or federal law. Visitors to such sites are
advised to check the privacy statements of such sites and to be cautious about providing
personally identifiable information without a clear understanding of how the information
will be used. Visitors may also wish to consult privacy guidelines such as those
recommended by the Online Privacy Alliance (http://www.privacyalliance.org/resources/ppguidelines.shtml).
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please send us
an email at comment@ladwp.com.