Privacy Policy

This privacy statement relates to the processing of your personal data on this website, at our offices and in the context of the service provided by Farys as a contracting association. Farys is responsible for the distribution and transport of drinking water, the treatment of wastewater and the management of sports facilities (“Services”) for its participants. Supporting tasks to guarantee these Services, such as general customer management, complaint management and data processing for public contracts, also fall under the definition of “Services”, given the inseparable nature of these tasks.

Farys ov, with offices located at Stropstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium, registered with the KBO (Central Belgian Database for Companies) under number 0200.068.636 (“Farys”, “we”, “our”, “us”), acts as a data controller in the context of all processing operations for this website on behalf of the various Services offered by Farys.

Farys recognises the importance of data protection and privacy of personal data and strives to act in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and other applicable provisions regarding privacy and data protection.

By means of this privacy statement, Farys would like to provide you – as a visitor to this website or our facilities or user of our Services – with as much information and control as possible about the collection, processing and use of your personal data. Please read this privacy statement very carefully. Not only are your rights set out below, but also the way in which you can exercise those rights. Due to the wide range of Services offered by Farys, specific privacy statements are provided when relevant to you. For example, you will find specific privacy statements in the sports facilities, which you can consult at any time on the relevant website or on site. You can also request them via the following e-mail address: [email protected].

Farys has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO), whom you can always contact for questions about your privacy and the protection of your personal data. The DPO can be reached via the following email address: [email protected].

Farys only processes your personal data for clearly defined purposes and only collects the necessary personal data for this purpose. In order to ensure transparency, we have provided a table below linking the purposes and personal data.

You will also find personal data in our customer zone. These data are collected for their original purpose and projected onto your secure profile so that you can easily update them and communicate changes quickly and efficiently. The data are also always retained according to the purposes detailed below. We store your customer zone login details to secure the access to your account so that only you or people you share this information with can log in. It is also recorded that you have agreed to the general terms and conditions, this privacy statement, as well as the date and time of consent.

Normally, Farys collects data from the data subject themselves, such as the transfer document, MyFarys, and our communications with you, and this data is validated, where possible or required, by means of authentic sources, such as the national register and the land registry.

Farys processes the following personal data for the following purposes: 

• Our processing in general:

• Digital water meters:

In addition to the above-mentioned data, processing via a digital water meter will also process specific data.

In exceptional cases, your personal data will also be used in Farys' test environment, based on its public interest. If your personal data is used in this environment, this will always be done to optimise existing processing, including correcting errors and performing tests (“further processing”), and always with the necessary security measures in place. Farys will only process the data in the test environment for as long as is necessary for the planned tests.

Farys can also, in the public interest, record telephone contacts with its customers for the purpose of coaching and training our employees. In the context of difficult conversations, the operator may also decide that calls from our call centres will be recorded. You will always be notified of this possibility at the beginning of the call. These telephone contacts will be retained for a maximum period of three months.

Farys uses surveillance cameras in and around its buildings. Farys relies on its public interest tasks with the aim of preventing, establishing or detecting crimes against persons or property. Camera surveillance installed and carried out in accordance with the Consolidated Laws of 21 March 2007 regulating the placement and use of surveillance cameras (“Camera Act”). In addition to the notification via this privacy statement, you will always find a pictogram near the cameras so that you are aware of the camera surveillance. This pictogram contains information about the camera surveillance, the Camera Act, Farys' contact details and the DPO's contact details. The camera images will be saved in accordance with the Camera Act, generally for a period of one month. When you browse our website, your personal data will be processed by means of our cookies. For more information about this processing, please refer to our cookie statement.

Your personal data can – under certain conditions – be transferred to third parties. Farys has identified two categories of third parties with which it potentially shares data, specifically (3.1) Parties acting on behalf of Farys and (3.2) Parties with which Farys cooperates within the framework of protocols and/or legal obligations.

3.1. Parties acting on behalf of Farys

Some third parties work on behalf of Farys or are deployed to perform an aspect of Farys's Services, for example, carrying out works on private property, for billing and customer administration and for dispute management.

In each case, Farys will enter into a processing agreement with these third parties who process personal data on behalf of Farys. Farys will only share personal data that is relevant and necessary for the performance of their specific task. The confidential handling of this personal data is always included in this processing agreement. We can pass on personal data to the following categories of recipients:

• Legal service providers, including lawyers, bailiffs and collection agencies;

• Service providers concerning customer affairs (including the print partner, De Stroomlijn and site administrators);

• Technical service providers (including IT providers and contractors).

In the context of the digital water meters, the installation will be carried out in collaboration with other drinking water companies, Fluvius and subcontractors. 

3.2. Parties with whom Farys cooperates under protocols or legal obligations

In accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws, Farys must enter into a protocol for any systematic electronic communication of personal data to and from another public authority. A protocol is an agreement between bodies that exchange personal data in which agreements are made regarding the exchange of personal data. These agreements cover, among other things, the purposes, lawfulness and security of personal data. You can view the overview of our protocols here.

More information on protocols can be found on the Flemish government's website.

Farys is sometimes obliged to share your personal data:

• if required by law; or

• if Farys deems in good faith that such disclosure is necessary:

  • to comply with a court order; or

  • to safeguard the rights of Farys, its employees and/or customers.

Farys therefore wishes to inform you that your personal data may be disclosed to competent law enforcement or judicial authorities or other official government bodies:

• if Farys, at its sole discretion, deems this necessary or useful in connection with an investigation of any harmful activity; or

• if Farys may reasonably suspect that such activity may expose Farys or yourself to liability.

In case of a judicial investigation or a request from the police, data may be transferred in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Farys will always check the legal justification for the request, the transfer will always be carried out under the supervision of the judicial and police authorities and your data will never be transferred for other (e.g. commercial) purposes.

Under certain conditions, data must be transferred to administrative authorities competent for the recovery of tax and social security claims. Here again, Farys will check the legal justification for these requests before making the data available to administrative authorities.

Farys can also share your data with other government agencies:

• under its reporting obligation (Aquaflanders and Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij),

• in case of a complaint (Flemish Ombudsman Service), 

• specific requests if justified and legally substantiated (FPS Home Affairs, Leegstand, Groeipakket, Dienst Stedenbouw, Local Advisory Committees and Wonen Vlaanderen).

Public authorities submitting a request to Farys will always make the request specific and substantiate it with a legal justification. If the request is specific and adequately substantiated, Farys will share the relevant data with the requesting government agency out of its obligation to cooperate.

In the context of the digital water meters, the installation will involve collaboration with other water companies, Fluvius and subcontractors. Consequently, we will share your data with these parties so that our installers will only have to visit your location once. In Section 2.2.2, paragraph 2/1 of the Decree on Integrated Water Policy, legislators have designated this manner of cooperation. Naturally, we will also take the necessary technical, organisational and contractual measures as part of this cooperation.

If you would like to know which third parties Farys shares your personal data with, please contact the DPO at [email protected].

Farys takes and enforces appropriate technical, organisational and contractual measures to safeguard your rights and freedoms. These security measures serve to adequately protect personal data against loss or any form of careless, incompetent or unlawful use, processing or access. This will take into account the nature of the personal data to be protected, the risk of processing, the state of the art and the implementation costs of the measures.

We make every effort to protect your personal data and privacy both on our network, and in our infrastructure and in our information systems.

Our employees are trained to handle personal data correctly. For privacy-sensitive projects, an assessment is also made on the level of security and the protection of personal data. For the security of your personal data, we employ specific persons who supervise compliance with the law. We also employ specialised persons who guarantee the security of our network, our infrastructure and our information systems.

Furthermore, we use various technical measures to protect your personal data, such as password protection, hard disk encryption software, firewalls, antivirus, intrusion and anomaly detection and access controls for our employees. 

The number of Farys employees in our company who have access to your personal data is limited, and they are selected with care. These employees are granted access to your personal data insofar as they need that personal data in order to be able to perform their duties properly.

Farys is committed to informing visitors of this website that the website may contain links, hyperlinks or references to other sites that Farys does not control and to which this privacy statement does not apply. Farys is not liable for the contents of these sites nor for offers, products or services mentioned on them. Read their privacy statement concerning the protection of your personal data with care.

The European Economic Area (EEA) includes the countries of the European Union, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The GDPR requires additional safeguards if your personal data is transferred to countries outside the EEA (such as entering into agreements based on the European Commission’s model provisions).

In principle, your personal data will only be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA) if an adequacy decision applies to that country or the recipient. In other cases, when we transfer personal data outside the EEA, we ensure that appropriate safeguards and, where necessary, additional measures are in place to ensure the adequate protection of your personal data. For more information about our transfers, please contact [email protected].

You have the following rights in relation to the processing of your personal data:

• Right to access: You have the right to know whether or not Farys processes your personal data and, where appropriate, to receive a copy of that personal data. We try to allow you to exercise this right yourself as much as possible by informing you about our privacy statement and through our customer portal, where you will always find the latest version of the data we have about you.
• Right to rectification: You have the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected by Farys. Through our customer portal, we also try to make it possible to change data yourself.
• Right to deletion: You have the right, in certain instances, to have your personal data deleted by Farys.
• Right to restriction: You have the right, to the extent possible, if certain elements apply, to obtain from Farys the restriction of the processing of your personal data.
• Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on the basis of general or legitimate interest as a legal basis and to the use of your personal data for direct marketing purposes. Farys will assess in each specific case whether it can meet this objection.
• Right to data portability: When we process your personal data based on your consent or an agreement, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to transfer it to another controller. You can also ask Farys to make this transfer on your behalf, to the extent this is technically possible. 

• Right to withdraw consent: For certain processing of personal data, Farys relies on your consent. The consent you grant is always free and you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent e.g. for the newsletter by unsubscribing using the link provided for this purpose in the newsletter or by contacting our DPO. A withdrawal of consent does not affect the processing of personal data prior to such withdrawal.

If you exercise these rights, Farys will endeavour to handle your request without undue delay and within a month.

To exercise your rights, you can submit a written request by email to [email protected] or by letter to Farys, Attn: DPO, Stropstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium. 

Before Farys can process your request, Farys will ask you to identify yourself. In this way, Farys ensures that you are the right person and that your personal data is not provided to the wrong person. You can do this by providing us with the following information: your surname and first name, customer number, date of your visit/contact, etc. If required, Farys may ask you to provide a copy of your identity card, as well. You must cover or obscure the personal data on your identity card that are not necessary for your identification on this copy. If you as a parent exercise these rights on behalf of your minor child, Farys can also request additional identification data from you.

If you have any reason to believe that Farys has not or not correctly or insufficiently processed your request, please take this up first with our DPO via [email protected] so that we can review the options together with you.

If Farys does not respond to your request, refuses it or if the response does not meet your expectations, you always have the right to submit a complaint to:

• The Flemish Supervisory Committee [in Dutch: Vlaamse Toezichtcommissie, VTC] (https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/vlaamse-toezichtcommissie) 
  This can be done by returning the completed complaint form to be found on the VTC website to the VTC via email ([email protected]) or by post (Koning Albert II-laan 15, 1210 Brussels).
  The VTC will then intervene in the context of its mediation assignment.
• The Data Protection Authority (DPA) (www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be) 
  The DPA can be reached by email ([email protected]) or by post (Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels).

Farys may amend this privacy statement at any time and will always post the updated version on the website, including the date of the ‘last update’.

Latest update: 10 August 2025