Selwyn Water – Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2025

Selwyn Water Limited (“we”, “us” or “our”) is a council-controlled organisation, wholly owned by the Selwyn District Council. Our registered office is 2 Norman Kirk Drive, Rolleston, Rolleston, 7614, New Zealand.

Your privacy is important to us. This privacy policy sets out how and why we collect and store your personal information, what we will use it for and with whom we can share it.

We take our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 (Privacy Act) and the information privacy principles in the Privacy Act seriously. This Privacy Policy has been prepared in accordance with our obligations and your rights under the Privacy Act.

Certain products and services we provide may be subject to additional terms and conditions, and privacy policies. Therefore we recommend that you carefully read the terms and conditions and any specific privacy policy that apply to the particular products and services we offer.

By providing your personal information or using our services, you agree to this privacy policy. If you are providing information about any other person, then you confirm that in providing such information, you are authorised from that person to do so.

To ensure we keep up with changes to our business, we may occasionally update this privacy policy by posting an updated policy on our website. Any changes will take effect from the date we post it, so please ensure you review our website from time to time.

1. What personal information do we collect?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Identification details: your name, gender, date of birth, address, occupation, contact information, proof of identify.
Property and service information: property ownership or tenancy status, water usage, wastewater service details.
Billing and payment details: billing and purchase history, bank account details, credit history.
Customer interactions: your communications and interactions with us (including phone conversations with our staff, which may be recorded), including service requests, complaints and feedback.
Technical data: IP address, device information (if using online services).

If you do not provide all the personal information that we request, we may be unable to adequately respond to you, provide the services you have requested, process payments, or otherwise deal with any requests or enquiries that you have submitted.

By providing us with your email address and/or mobile phone number, you consent to us sending you information connected with the collection and use purposes set out in this privacy policy via email or text message. The messages you receive from us will have instructions for how you can remove yourself from our mailing list.

2. How do we collect personal information?

Direct collection

We may collect personal information directly from you or anyone you authorise to provide us with your personal information. For example, when you:

communicate with us in person, by phone, letter or electronically;
complete of submit forms, submissions or applications on our website;
follow or post comments in response to our online communications (including on social media);
apply for employment with us;
enter promotions that we run or facilitate.

Your personal information will be held at our registered office (as listed at the start of this privacy policy). It may also be held for us in the data centres, platforms and systems of our third-party service providers, some of which may be located outside of New Zealand.

Website cookies and analytics

When you visit or return to our website we collect information including the IP address and phone number of your machine or device, the operating system and the browser your machine or device uses, your browser's general Wi-Fi location, the date and time you are visiting and the pages you view. We may use technology solutions such as cookies, to provide you with better access to tailored information and services. A cookie is a small data file that a website or app sends to your device, which may be stored for later retrieval by the website or app. Some cookies we use last only for the duration of your website or app session and expire when you close your browser or exit the app. Other cookies are used to remember you when you return.

We use Google Analytics to further understand how some of our services may be improved. Google Analytics relies on the use of cookies. For details on what information is collected via the use of cookies, and how it is stored and used, see Privacy Policy – Privacy & Terms – Google.

We may use non-personalised statistics to monitor site traffic, to analyse trends, to gather demographic information about those who use our services, to improve our services and to improve user experience. These anonymised and/or amalgamated statistics do not include personal information.

While we use cookies to improve your online experience, if you do not wish to allow cookies then you can choose to disable cookies (for all sites) from within your browser settings.

Indirect collection

We may also collect personal information about you from Selwyn District Council and any other organisations, entities and persons where you have expressly authorised us to request and obtain your information from them, or you have authorised them to provide your information to us.

3. How do we use your information?

We collect and use personal information for purposes related to the delivery and management of drinking water and wastewater services within the Selwyn District. These purposes include:

responding to any queries or requests for information that you may have;
carrying out credit checks;
processing your transactions and administering your account with us;
establishing, maintaining, and managing water and wastewater connections and ensuring reliable service delivery;
responding to service requests, inquiries, and complaints, and providing updates on service interruptions or maintenance;
generating accurate billing, processing payments, and managing account-related communications;
supporting infrastructure planning, maintenance, and upgrades based on service usage and demand;
meeting obligations under local and national laws, including water quality monitoring and reporting;
contacting affected individuals during service disruptions, contamination events, or other emergencies; and
analysing service performance and customer feedback to improve the quality and efficiency of water services.

We may share your personal information with:

our staff or advisors where it is necessary for that staff member or advisor to carry out their duties;
Selwyn District Council;
our third-party contractors and service providers;
regulatory bodies, where we are required by law to share your personal information;
any other persons we may notify you of at the time we collect your personal information; and
any other persons to whom you authorise us to disclose your personal information.

4. Accessing and correcting your personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information we hold is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant.

You may make the following requests in relation to the personal information we hold about you:

Confirmation as to whether we hold personal information about you.
Access to the personal information we hold about you.
Correction of the personal information we hold about you.

We will endeavour to provide you with access to your personal information where it can be readily retrieved, unless we believe we need to withhold the information (in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020).

To make a request about your personal information, of if you have any questions or complaints, please contact [hello@selwynwater.govt.nz].