State Water Resources Control Board Privacy Policy
Effective 5/20/2025
The California State Water Resources Control Board and the Water Quality Control Board (Water Boards) recognize the importance of safeguarding the privacy of an individual’s personal information. This policy describes Water Boards’ privacy practices regarding information collected from users of this website. This policy describes what information is collected and how that information is used.
The Water Boards are committed to protecting the privacy rights of individuals, as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, and other state and federal laws. It is the Water Boards’ policy to limit the collection and safeguard the privacy of personal information submitted to, collected by, or maintained by the Water Boards. The Water Boards’ information management practices conform to the requirements of the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.
Personal Information
The Water Boards collect personal information on individuals only as allowed by law. Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history. Personal information also includes statements made by, or attributed to, the individual.
Collection of Personal Information
The Water Boards limit the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose of the department.
The Water Boards do not collect addresses (home, business, or email) or account information from individuals who browse our website. This information is only collected if an individual provides it voluntarily through our online services. Additionally, the Water Boards will not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under the age of 13 without prior verifiable consent from a parent or guardian.
The Water Boards will advise individuals who provide personal information to the Water Boards the purpose(s) for which the information is collected.
The Water Boards communicate the purpose for which the personal information will be used at or prior to the time of collection in a privacy notice on collection included on or with the form used. Any subsequent use will be consistent with the original purpose specified.
Personal information will not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified without consent, unless authorized by law or regulation.
The Water Boards may share your personal information with other state and/or local agencies who support or oversee our programs. However, any subsequent use or disclosure will remain consistent with the original purpose provided at the time of collection.
Automatically Collected Electronic Information
The Water Boards may use electronic “cookies” to improve the overall usability of the website. Cookies are small text files stored on your device which help analyze and improve website content. Cookies do not contain personal or confidential information. However, cookies may contain electronically collected personal information as defined by Government Code section 11015.5.
Electronically collected personal information that we automatically collect includes:
- Date and time of the visit
- Internet protocol (IP) address of the machine used to access our website
- HTTP data (HTTP version, webpage or resource requested, status codes, and other technical information.)
- Type of browser used
- General geolocation
- Source of navigation (Direct, search engine result, referred from another website, etc.)
- Amount of data sent and received (in bytes)
Additionally, the Water Boards use Google Analytics to measure and report statistics about website user interactions. No personal information is stored or sent to Google Analytics. For more information about Google Analytics, see Google Analytics Privacy.
Session cookies are temporary and only maintain information such as user preferences during your browsing session. Persistent cookies maintain information such as user preferences on subsequent visits and are stored until they expire or are manually deleted. You can prevent cookies from being placed on your computer by accessing your browser’s preferences and deleting existing cookies. There are also commercial programs available to help manage cookies. If you disable cookies, some of the Water Boards’ online services may not function properly.
You have the right to have any electronically collected personal information deleted by the Water Boards without reuse or distribution by contacting the Water Boards’ Privacy Officer using the contact information provided below. Electronically collected personal information is exempt from disclosure under Public Records Act requests. The Water Boards will not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information about you to any third party without your written consent, except as authorized by law.
The Water Boards collect personal information about individuals through our website if an individual provides such information to the Water Boards voluntarily through our online services, such as sending an email or submitting forms or surveys. We may use your personal information to contact you with information that may be of concern to you. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, communications from us by clicking the unsubscribe link, following the instructions provided by email, or by contacting the Water Boards’ Privacy Officer. If you choose not to participate in these services, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the website.
Protection of Personal Information
The Water Boards take reasonable precautions to protect the personal information collected or maintained by the Water Boards against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure. The Water Boards use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption software to protect the security of individuals’ personal information during transmission of such information through the Water Boards’ website. Personal information is stored in secure locations. Staff are trained on the management of personal information, including the limitations to the release of information. Access to personal information is limited to those staff whose work requires the information. Confidential information is destroyed according to the Water Boards’ records retention schedule with periodic audits conducted to ensure proper information management policies and procedures are followed.
Links to External Websites
The Water Boards website includes links to external websites and resources. The Water Boards are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites.
Notification of Changes
Changes to our Privacy Policy will be posted immediately and implemented within 30 days of the posting date.
Your Access Rights
You have the right to access any of your personal information maintained by the Water Boards and to request correction of any inaccuracies in the information. Additionally, you have the right to request deletion of any of your electronically collected personal information maintained by the Water Boards without additional use or distribution. For questions about this policy or to submit a request to our Privacy Office, contact us using one of the methods listed below.
Contact Us
Email
privacy@waterboards.ca.gov
Mail
State Water Resources Control Board
ATTN: DIT Privacy Officer
1001 I Street, MS 8B
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone
(916) 327-8501
