Terms & Conditions

Thank you for visiting Water Stories

Water Stories is a designated area of the Ofwat website in which we invite the public to contribute their experiences of, or views and feelings on, the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales. The intention is to create a picture of these experiences, views and feelings across the sector, and use this to contribute to Ofwat’s work on consumer engagement by the companies we regulate. Ofwat intends to produce a short video highlighting key themes and messages emerging from this Water Stories website, including Content uploaded by contributors.

Please review these Uploading Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) which set out how you may post your photographs, videos, text, comments, captions, combinations of these or other materials, (including any personal data, as defined in Article 4(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation) you choose to include (your “Content”) to Water Stories. The Terms also set out what we consider to be acceptable and unacceptable Content.

By directly uploading your Content, you acknowledge and agree that you and your Content are subject to these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations, including those regarding copyright, trademark, publicity and other intellectual property rights.

1. Water Stories

Ofwat reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to determine which Content to include on the Water Stories area of Ofwat’s Website (“Water Stories”). We invite you to submit Content directly to Water Stories and view the Content posted there. All Content submitted will be reviewed by Ofwat prior to being published on Water Stories.

You must be over 18 years of age to contribute Content to Water Stories, and, insofar as the law permits, you retain legal responsibility for that Content.

2. Uploading Content

Copyright

To be eligible for inclusion on Water Stories, any Content you submit must be your own original work or you must own the intellectual property rights in the content. If your Content is a photograph or video, you must have taken the picture or video yourself or own the copyright in the photograph or video. You must not upload Content that you have copied from somewhere else or that otherwise infringes a copyright or any other third-party rights. If you do submit Content that infringes another’s copyright or other intellectual property rights, we may, in our sole discretion, refuse to include the Content on Water Stories.

Licence

Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms, you retain any copyright you may have in the Content. By uploading material to this Gallery, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, transferrable, worldwide licence to use, copy, edit, adapt, publish, translate, display, create adaptations from, make available, communicate and distribute the Content, in whole or in part, and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, for purposes including, without limitation, promotional purposes. By uploading Content to this website, you warrant that you have the right to grant this licence. To the extent permitted by law, you waive any moral rights you have in the Content such as your right to be identified as the author of the material, or to object to derogatory treatment.

You agree that: (i) you own the Content that you upload to Water Stories, or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licences set forth in these Terms; (ii) the posting and use of your Content on Water Stories does not violate, misappropriate or infringe on the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademarks and/or other intellectual property rights; and (iii) you are at least eighteen (18) years old and have the legal right and capacity to agree to the Terms.

Consent

By submitting your Content to this website, you acknowledge and give your consent to Ofwat that your Content, including any personal data relating to you or to anyone else may be featured on the gallery, can be used to promote, advertise or link through to Ofwat and/or Water Stories. If your Content includes personal data about any individual, before you upload your Content you must ensure that the individual in your Content willingly consents to the submission of your Content, and the possibility of appearing on Water Stories. You should obtain the permission of any such individual to be included in your Content and appear on Water Stories. You should send each such individual a link to Water Stories and these Terms. It is also important that you explain to each such individual that others on the Internet may view or “share” the Content.

Your Content must not identify, reference or depict any company other than your water company, any other company’s brands, products or services, any commercial or corporate advertising (which may include corporate logos, brand names or slogans), or any recognisable branded products or commercial artwork, except for a use that, as determined solely by us, is incidental, in the background, and/or not the focal point or primary content of your Content.

3. Limitations on use of Water Stories

Unless otherwise stated in these Terms, you must not directly or indirectly: (i) copy, download, store, make available, distribute, sell or offer to sell all or part of the Content on this website [other than by sharing the content on social media]; or (ii) download or otherwise copy any Content, files or data from this site to make or populate a database or publication of any kind whatsoever.

4. Unacceptable Content

Your Content must not be:

• defamatory, false or misleading;
• insulting, threatening or abusive;
• obscene or of a sexual nature;
• offensive or discriminatory in any way, including against any religions or other groups;
• likely to cause someone alarm, anxiety or distress; or
• likely to encourage or incite violence or hatred of any kind, including racial or religious hatred. Any Content which Ofwat considers in its sole discretion to fail to comply with these requirements above will be rejected and will not be published on Water Stories.

5. How we may use your Content

Ofwat may publish, review, modify or remove all or part of your Content at our sole discretion. Some examples of how Ofwat may use your Content are set out below.

• We may publish your Content, in whole or in part, for as long as we decide makes sense. However, in the event you change your mind and ask us to remove all or select portions of your Content, we will promptly comply with your request.
• We may remove your Content at any time, either in whole or in part, even if you have not violated these Terms.
• We may edit your Content as we deem appropriate.

6. Content removal

Removal by us

You acknowledge that we may remove Content from Water Stories at any time for any or no reason, without notice. In particular, if following publication of your Content we later consider at our sole discretion that it violates the letter or spirit of the Terms we may remove it. If we remove Content, we will generally remove it in its entirety. Therefore, even if only one element is objectionable, the entire piece of Content will typically be removed (or not published). We may also remove an entire thread of Content, even if only one piece is inappropriate.

Removal by you

If you wish to have your Content removed from Water Stories, please contact us using the contact form on the website or by emailing [email protected].
We will remove any Content from Water Stories at any time upon request either by the person who contributed it or at the request of anyone, whether or not the person who contributed the Content, whose personal data appears in that Content. We will also delete any record of content containing personal data upon request from the person to whom that personal data relates, unless we require it for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

7. Personal data

By uploading Content to Water Stories, you acknowledge and agree that we may collect, store, use and publicly disclose any personal data that you include in the Content as set out in these Terms. We will use any personal information you submit in connection with your use of this site in accordance with Ofwat’s privacy policy, which forms part of these Terms.
By using this site, you confirm that you have read and agree to that privacy policy. We will remove any content including personal data as set out at paragraph 6 of these Terms. Before uploading Content, you must ensure that you have the Consent of anyone else whose personal data appears in your Content, as set out at paragraph 2 of these Terms.