PALMDALE WATER DISTRICT
Online Terms and Conditions

INTRODUCTION: The Palmdale Water District takes privacy and data protection issues very seriously. These Terms and Conditions specifically govern the Palmdale Water District OnLine Access and contains your and our rights and responsibilities and the terms and conditions under which this service is provided. Please read this Agreement and Disclosure carefully and retain it for your records.

In the Terms and Conditions, the words "you", "your" and "yours" mean each and every one of you who utilizes the Palmdale Water District OnLine Access service. The words "we", "us", "our", "PWD" and "District" each mean Palmdale Water District. By initiating account inquiries and/or payment processing through the Palmdale Water District OnLine Access service, or by permitting another to use PWD OnLine on your behalf, you acknowledge receipt of these Terms and Conditions and agree to be bound by all terms and conditions contained herein, and all applicable terms and conditions contained in our other agreements with your water service accounts accessible in connection with this service. You further agree to follow all instructions provided by PWD OnLine as reflected on your computer monitor or other system access screen.

The Terms and Conditions are in addition to the terms and conditions of any and all other water service account agreements, including all such disclosures made pursuant to such agreements you have with the District.


TERMS OF USE: The District is neither responsible nor liable for any viruses or other contamination of your system nor for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions arising out of your use of the Site or with respect to the material contained on the Site, including without limitation, any material posted on the Site. This site and all materials contained on it are distributed and transmitted "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The District is not responsible for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the use of, or the inability to use, the site and/or the materials contained on the site whether the materials contained on the site are provided by the District or a third party.

When dealing with our third party service providers all policies established by them must be followed and maintianed during the use of the PWD Online Access system. Please make sure that you read these policies before engaging in the use of these system. Both the District and our third party service providers will make every attempt possible in preventing any possible disclosure of personal information.


INFORMATION SECURITY: Information security is critical to our business. We will work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you send. Information gathered is stored on computers located in a secure data center. The number of people at the data center that have physical access to these computers is limited. Firewalls and other security technology are used to prevent system computers from being accessed by unauthorized persons.


SERVICES: You can access your District accounts and process transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Through PWD OnLine you can:

Inquire and download account balance and transaction history information on your water service account(s);
Make payments to your water service accounts via our payment service provider;
Request service disconnection for an existing service account; and,
Make changes to you mailing address information.


ISSUANCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR PERSONAL PASSWORD: You are required to select a PASSWORD for use with the District's OnLine service. The PASSWORD is required for security purposes in connection with the inquiries and payments you initiate through the PWD OnLine service. Your PASSWORD is confidential and should NOT be disclosed to others or recorded on documentation or records located on or around your personal computer. You are responsible for the proper safekeeping of your PASSWORD. You agree not to disclose or otherwise make your PASSWORD available to anyone not authorized to sign on your accounts. If you authorize anyone to use your PASSWORD, that authority shall continue until you specifically revoke such authority by changing the PASSWORD or by notifying the District and obtaining a replacement PASSWORD. You understand that if you reveal your PASSWORD to anyone, or request that the District issue a PASSWORD to anyone else, you have authorized that individual to make payment and/or terminate water service for any of your accounts which can be accessed by the PASSWORD, regardless of whether that person is authorized to make payment and/or terminate water service for the account(s) by any means other than by use of PWD OnLine.

If you fail to maintain security of your PASSWORD and the District suffers a loss, we reserve the right to terminate PWD OnLine services to you under these Terms and Conditions. Users of the PWD OnLine service should utilize such other PASSWORD protection precautions as may be appropriate under any particular set of circumstances to ensure proper security over system access and access to account and transaction information and payment system capabilities. The District provides the capability for you to change your PASSWORD to help safeguard your security and you should change your PASSWORD as necessary. If you forget your PASSWORD your system access is disabled due to the use of an incorrect PASSWORD, you must contact a District Customer Service Agent to have a temporary PASSWORD issued to you. Contact the District at (661) 947-4111. We reserve the right to require written re-application for a new/replacement PASSWORD.


ONLINE STATEMENTS: When you request Online Statements, you agree that the statements provided are just a representation of the acctual statement that was mailed. Any information represented on the billing statement may be inaccurate due to changes on the account after the issuance of said statement. Your account statements are made available to you when you logon to PWD OnLine using your PASSWORD and select the view Online Statements option, and are provided in readable, printable and downloadable format from this site.


IN CASE OF ERRORS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WATER SERVICE ACCOUNT: Call us or write us IMMEDIATELY at the telephone number or address described in the preceding section if you think your statement charges or meter reading is wrong or if you need more information about the charges or meter reading. We must hear from you no later than 25 days after we send the FIRST statement for said items. If you do not tell us within 25 days after the statement was mailed to you, you may not dispute these charges if we can prove that no attempt was made to contact District staff. If done in writting please tell us your name and account number. Tell us the charge or meter reading you suspect is in error. Describe the error or the charge you are unsure about, and explain as clearly as you can why you believe it is an error or why you need more information.

If you notify us verbally, we may require you to send us your complaint or question in writing within ten (10) business days. We will tell you the results of our investigation within ten (10) business days after we hear from you and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to thirty (30) calendar days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide to do this, we will provisionally credit your account within ten (10) business days for the amount you think is in error, so that you will have the use of the money during the time it takes us to complete our investigation. If we ask you to put your complaint or request in writing and we do not receive it within ten (10) business days, we may not adjust your account. If we determine there was no error, we will send you written explanation within three (3) business days after we complete our investigation. You may ask for copies of the documents that we used in our investigation and which we relied upon to conclude that the error did not occur.


FEES AND CHARGES: There are no fees for the PWD OnLine Access service. However, you are solely responsible for the payment of any Internet Service Provider and telephone and utility company charges incurred in connection with accessing the PWD OnLine Access service.


DISCLOSURE OF ACCOUNT INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES: We will not disclose information to third parties about your account or the payments you make except: (a) Where it is necessary for completing a payment; or (b) In order to comply with government agency or court orders; or (c) If you give us your written permission.


SYSTEM UNAVAILABILITY: Access to PWD OnLine Access may be unavailable at times for the following reasons: (1) Scheduled Maintenance - There will be necessary periods when systems require maintenance or upgrades; (2) Unscheduled Maintenance - PWD OnLine Access may be unavailable when unforeseen maintenance is necessary; (3) System Outages - Major unforeseen events, such as, but not limited to, earthquakes, fires, floods, computer failures, interruptions in telephone service, or electrical outages, may cause system unavailability; or, (4) Internet Service Provider - Failure by or unavailability of an Internet Service Provider. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure the availability of PWD OnLine Access, however, we are in no way liable for system unavailability or any consequential damages that may result.


NOTIFICATION AND CHANGES IN TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Any notification, required or appropriate, will be mailed to you and will be considered given when placed in the United States mail, postage prepaid, and addressed to you at your current mailing address as it appears on our records. We may change or amend any part of these Terms and Conditions at any time, including changes in terms, conditions, and fees, as long as we give you advance notice as required by law.


OTHER LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: You are solely responsible for the selection, installation, maintenance, and operation of your personal computer and software. The District expressly disclaims any and all liability as relates to the improper use of your personal computer and the transmission of data except as provided by statute. The District is not responsible for any errors or failures due to any malfunction of your personal computer or the software, or unsuitability of your personal computer or software, or any virus, or any problems that may be associated with the use of an on-line service.


TERMINATION AND AUTOMATIC DEACTIVATION OF SERVICE: You may terminate your PWD OnLine Access service at any time by providing written notice to the District and immediately discontinuing use of the service, or by discontinuing use of the service (by not logging on to the service) for a six-consecutive-month period if deemed necessary by the District. If this occurs and you wish to reactivate your PWD OnLine Access service, you must contact the District by telephone or in person. We reserve the right to require written reapplication before we reactivate your PWD OnLine Access system access. The District may also terminate the PWD OnLine Access service and these Terms and Conditions at any time by giving you advance notification, either orally or in writing. Whether you or the District terminates your PWD OnLine Access service and these Terms and Conditions, the termination shall not affect your obligations under these Terms and Conditions for any payments made prior to termination.


ENFORCEMENT: You agree to be liable to the District for any liability, loss, or expense as provided in this Agreement that the District incurs as a result of any dispute involving your accounts. You authorize the District to process charges for any such liability, loss, or expense against your account without prior notice to you. In the event either party brings a legal action to enforce this Agreement or collect charges on accounts accessed under these Terms and Conditions, the prevailing party shall be entitled, subject to California law, to payment by the other party of its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, including fees on any appeal, and any post-judgment collection actions, if applicable. Should any one or more provisions of this Agreement be determined illegal or unenforceable in any relevant jurisdiction, then such provision may be modified by the proper court, if possible, but only to the extent necessary to make the provision enforceable, and any such modification shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement.


GOVERNING LAW: This Agreement is made in California and shall be governed by the laws of the State of California to the extent that California Law is not inconsistent with controlling Federal Law. You also understand that California's "Choice of Law Rules" will not be applied if they would result in the application of non-California law.