Agreement Between User and Water Quality Association
The Water Quality Association (“WQA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates this website and related online services, including member resources, event platforms, educational content, certification services, online learning tools, member portals, and digital communications. Your access to and use of these services is subject to these Terms of Use.
By accessing or using the website, member portal, certification platform, learning management system, event platform, online store, digital directory, or other online services provided by WQA (collectively, the “Site”), you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, you should not access or use the Site.
Modification of These Terms of Use
WQA may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, operations, or legal requirements. Updated Terms will be posted on this page with a revised effective date. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
Links to Third-Party Sites
The Site may contain links to third-party websites, applications, platforms, or services. WQA does not control and is not responsible for the content, security, privacy practices, or terms of use of third-party resources. Inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement unless specifically stated.
Acceptable Use of the Site
As a condition of your use of the Site, you agree not to use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site; interfere with another user’s access or use; compromise security; violate applicable law; infringe intellectual property rights; or negatively affect the experience of other users.
You may not obtain or attempt to obtain materials, information, account access, member data, certification records, course materials, directory information, or other content through any means not intentionally made available through the Site.
Member Portal, Certification Platform, and Online Learning Services
Certain portions of the Site may allow members, certificants, certification candidates, students, instructors, volunteers, committee participants, event registrants, or other authorized users to access account-based services, including member profiles, dues and membership records, committee materials, certification applications, exam registrations, continuing education records, course content, webinars, learning management systems, transcripts, certificates of completion, digital credentials, and other restricted resources.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username, password, and account credentials. You may not share login credentials, permit unauthorized access to member-only or restricted areas, use another person’s account, or allow any other person or entity to access content or services made available to you unless WQA expressly permits such access.
You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when using member portal, certification, or online learning services and to update your information as needed. WQA may rely on information in your account to administer membership benefits, certification eligibility, examination records, continuing education credits, event registrations, purchases, and other services.
Access to certification-related features may be subject to additional certification program rules, candidate handbooks, codes of conduct, exam security requirements, continuing education policies, eligibility requirements, recertification rules, and other WQA policies. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and specific certification program requirements, the certification program requirements will control for certification-related matters.
You may not copy, record, photograph, download, distribute, disclose, sell, transmit, post, upload, or otherwise share examination content, certification materials, course materials, answer keys, assessment materials, restricted training content, member-only materials, or other protected content except as expressly authorized by WQA. Unauthorized disclosure or misuse of such materials may result in suspension or termination of access, denial or revocation of certification-related privileges, and other available remedies.
Online learning and webinar content is provided for the registered or authorized user only unless WQA states otherwise in writing. Completion records, continuing education credits, certificates, and transcripts may be subject to verification, attendance, participation, assessment, payment, and program requirements. WQA may correct, withhold, revoke, or adjust credits, certificates, or records where information is inaccurate, requirements are not satisfied, or misuse is identified.
WQA may suspend or terminate access to member portal, certification platform, or online learning services if WQA believes that an account has been compromised, credentials have been shared, fees are unpaid, information is inaccurate, program rules have been violated, or continued access may create legal, operational, security, or reputational risk.
Purchases, Registrations, and Payments
The Site may allow users to purchase memberships, renewals, event registrations, publications, training programs, certification services, examinations, continuing education offerings, sponsorships, exhibits, products, or other WQA goods and services. Prices, availability, descriptions, eligibility requirements, and program details are subject to change unless otherwise stated in writing.
By submitting an order, registration, application, or renewal, you represent that the information provided is accurate and that you are authorized to use the selected payment method. WQA may use third-party payment processors or platforms to process transactions, and those transactions may be subject to the applicable processor’s terms, privacy notice, and security practices.
Payment obligations, deadlines, refund eligibility, cancellations, substitutions, transfers, credits, and administrative fees are governed by the specific terms posted for the applicable membership, event, product, certification program, course, sponsorship, exhibit, or other offering. Unless otherwise stated, purchases and registrations are not transferable without WQA’s approval.
WQA may suspend access to member benefits, event participation, certification services, online learning, digital content, or other services for unpaid amounts, chargebacks, suspected fraud, payment disputes, or failure to satisfy stated eligibility or registration requirements.
Digital Credentials, Badges, and Certification Records
WQA may issue digital certificates, badges, credentials, transcripts, continuing education records, designations, or similar digital indicators of achievement or status. These records are provided for verification and informational purposes and remain subject to WQA certification rules, program requirements, and applicable policies.
Digital credentials, badges, certificates, and related records may not be altered, misrepresented, transferred, sold, or used in a misleading manner. WQA may correct, update, suspend, revoke, remove, or invalidate credentials, badges, certificates, credits, or certification-related records if eligibility requirements are not met, information is inaccurate, fees are unpaid, program rules are violated, or certification status changes.
Digital Content and Limited License
Subject to your compliance with these Terms and any applicable program, purchase, membership, or licensing terms, WQA grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use Site content for your personal, internal business, educational, membership, certification, or professional reference purposes.
Unless expressly authorized in writing, digital content may not be shared outside your organization, posted to public websites, uploaded to third-party repositories, incorporated into commercial products, resold, redistributed, used to develop competing products or services, or used in a way that exceeds the scope of the access granted.
Recording, Reproduction, and Distribution Restrictions
Unless WQA expressly authorizes otherwise in writing, users may not record, photograph, screen capture, livestream, download, reproduce, distribute, post, share, or create derivative works from webinars, virtual programs, online courses, examinations, assessment materials, certification content, training materials, or other restricted digital content. This restriction applies regardless of the technology used, including screen recording tools, meeting platforms, transcription tools, artificial intelligence tools, mobile devices, or other capture methods. WQA may deny or revoke access and pursue available remedies for unauthorized recording, capture, reproduction, or distribution.
AI Notetaking, Transcription, and Meeting Assistant Tools
Unless WQA expressly authorizes otherwise in writing, attendees may not enable, invite, use, or permit artificial intelligence notetaking, transcription, summarization, recording, meeting assistant, or similar automated tools during any WQA-run, WQA-hosted, or WQA-sponsored meeting, webinar, virtual program, training, committee meeting, exam review, certification-related session, or other online or in-person session.
This restriction applies to third-party bots, platform-based AI assistants, automated transcription services, meeting summarizers, screen capture tools, and similar technologies, whether operated by the user, the user’s employer, or another third party. WQA may require removal of any unauthorized tool, deny or revoke access to the session, and take other appropriate action if an unauthorized AI notetaking or meeting assistant tool is used.
WQA may, in its discretion, use or authorize recording, transcription, captioning, or notetaking tools for accessibility, operational, educational, archival, or administrative purposes. When WQA authorizes such tools, use and distribution of any resulting recording, transcript, notes, summary, or related materials remain subject to these Terms and any additional WQA policies or notices.
Member Directory and Contact Information
If WQA makes a member directory, certificant directory, company directory, committee roster, participant list, or similar contact resource available through the Site, that information may be used only for legitimate professional, membership, certification, industry, or WQA-related purposes.
Directory and contact information may not be copied, scraped, harvested, sold, licensed, transferred, used for mass solicitation, used for spam, incorporated into a separate database, or used for purposes unrelated to WQA activities without WQA’s prior written authorization. WQA may restrict or terminate access to directory information if it believes the information has been misused.
Intellectual Property and Certification Mark Usage
All content available through the Site, including text, graphics, logos, publications, educational materials, certification resources, videos, software, and other digital assets, is owned by WQA or its licensors and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted, no content may be reproduced, distributed, modified, or used without prior written permission.
The WQA name, logos, certification marks, badges, designations, program names, water quality-related marks, and other identifiers are trademarks, service marks, certification marks, or other protected intellectual property of WQA or its licensors. Use of WQA marks must comply with applicable WQA guidelines, certification program rules, and written permissions. Users may not use WQA marks, certification marks, badges, credentials, or designations in a manner that is false, misleading, confusing, deceptive, or that suggests endorsement, membership, certification, accreditation, sponsorship, approval, or affiliation that has not been granted by WQA. WQA may require correction, removal, suspension, or discontinuation of any unauthorized or improper use of its marks or credentials.
AI and Data Scraping Provision
Users may not use automated tools, bots, crawlers, scrapers, artificial intelligence systems, machine-learning tools, or similar technologies to access, extract, copy, harvest, index, or use Site content, member information, directories, publications, databases, course materials, certification materials, pricing, credentials, or other materials without WQA’s prior written authorization.
Users may not use Site content, WQA publications, digital materials, member information, course content, certification materials, directory information, or other WQA data to train, fine-tune, benchmark, validate, prompt, or develop artificial intelligence systems, machine-learning models, large language models, or similar technologies without WQA’s prior written authorization.
Use of Communication Services
The Site may offer online communities, discussion forums, committee workspaces, learning platforms, event networking features, or other interactive services (“Community Features”). Users are responsible for all content they post, submit, or share through these features.
By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using any Community Feature, you will not:
- Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights of others;
- Publish, post, upload, distribute, or disseminate inappropriate, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, misleading, or unlawful material;
- Upload files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws unless you own or control the rights or have received all necessary permissions;
- Upload files that contain viruses, corrupted files, malware, or other programs that may damage another user’s device or WQA systems;
- Advertise or offer to sell or buy goods or services for a business purpose unless the applicable Community Feature specifically allows such messages;
- Conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, or chain letters;
- Download or redistribute any file that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot legally be distributed in that manner;
- Falsify or delete author attributions, legal notices, proprietary designations, labels, or other source identifiers;
- Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Community Features;
- Violate any code of conduct, program rule, community guideline, certification policy, or other applicable requirement; or
- Harvest or collect information about others, including email addresses, member information, directory information, or certification information, without authorization.
WQA has no obligation to monitor Community Features. However, WQA reserves the right to review, edit, refuse to post, or remove materials in its sole discretion and to terminate access to Community Features at any time without notice for any reason permitted by law.
Always use caution when sharing personal information through Community Features. WQA does not control or endorse user content, messages, or information posted by users. Community moderators, managers, hosts, or participants are not authorized WQA spokespersons unless expressly identified as such.
User Submissions and Feedback
By submitting content, comments, feedback, suggestions, files, or other materials through the Site, you represent that you have the necessary rights to do so and grant WQA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and display such materials in connection with its programs, services, and operations.
Website Accessibility
WQA is committed to improving the accessibility and usability of its digital properties. Users experiencing difficulty accessing website content or functionality are encouraged to contact WQA so that reasonable accommodations or alternative methods of access can be explored.
Liability Disclaimer
WQA strives to provide accurate and reliable information; however, the Site and all associated content, products, and services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, except as required by law.
The information, software, products, and services included in or available through the Site may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes may be made periodically. WQA and its suppliers may make improvements or changes to the Site at any time. Advice received through the Site should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, financial, regulatory, or professional decisions, and users should consult an appropriate professional for advice tailored to their situation.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, WQA and its suppliers disclaim all warranties and conditions regarding the Site and associated information, software, products, services, and related graphics, including implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, WQA and its suppliers will not be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential, or other damages, including damages for loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in any way connected with use of the Site, delay or inability to use the Site, related services, or any information, software, products, services, or related graphics obtained through the Site. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limitations, so some limitations may not apply to you. If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Site or these Terms, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Site.
Service contact: wqa@wqa.org
Termination and Access Restriction
WQA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Site and related services, including member portal access, certification platform access, online learning access, Community Features, digital content, directory information, digital credentials, badges, certificates, and other restricted resources, at any time and without notice where WQA believes such action is appropriate.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or use of the Site shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Illinois, unless otherwise required by applicable law.
Use of the Site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these Terms. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and WQA as a result of these Terms or your use of the Site. WQA’s performance of these Terms is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing in these Terms limits WQA’s right to comply with governmental, court, or law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Site or information provided to or gathered by WQA.
If any part of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the remainder of these Terms will continue in effect. Unless otherwise specified, these Terms constitute the entire agreement between the user and WQA regarding the Site and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals regarding the Site. A printed version of these Terms and any electronic notice will be admissible in legal or administrative proceedings to the same extent as other business documents maintained in printed form. It is the express wish of the parties that these Terms and all related documents be drawn up in English.
Copyright and Trademark Notices
Copyright © Water Quality Association. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
The names of actual companies and products mentioned on the Site may be the trademarks of their respective owners. The example companies, organizations, products, people, and events depicted on the Site are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person, or event is intended or should be inferred. Any rights not expressly granted are reserved.
Notices and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement
Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), notifications of claimed copyright infringement under United States copyright law should be sent to WQA’s designated copyright contact. All inquiries not relevant to the copyright infringement notice procedure may not receive a response.
Updated August 13, 2026