Last updated: October 20, 2026
Kern Utility Co. ("Kern," "we," "us") provides drinking water, sanitary sewer and contract system operations in Missouri. This policy explains what information we collect through this website and our customer portal, how we use it, and who we share it with.
The short version: we use your information to provide your utility service and bill you for it. We do not sell your information, and we do not share it for advertising or marketing. We share it only with the companies we need to run our service, such as our payment provider.
Information we collect
- Your utility account. Your name, service address, mailing address, email address, phone number and account number, and your bills, payments and service history.
- Your portal sign-in. Your email address and password. We store your password only in a scrambled (hashed) form that no one at Kern can read. If you turn on two-step verification, its secret is stored encrypted.
- Messages you send us. When you use our contact form or email us, we receive what you send, such as your name, contact details and message.
- Email activity. Whether our account emails, such as bills and notices, were delivered to you, and whether and when they were opened (see "Emails we send" below).
- Basic technical information. When you visit, our systems record technical details such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the time. Sign-ins, sign-outs and security events are also recorded. We use this to keep the site and your account secure.
How we use it
- To provide your water and sewer service, send your bills and record your payments.
- To let you view your bills and pay online through the customer portal.
- To send you notices about your account, such as a new bill or a bill that is past due, by email and, if you agreed to receive texts when you gave us your mobile number, by text message. You can stop text messages at any time by replying STOP to any of them.
- To answer your questions and requests.
- To keep our website, our systems and your account secure.
- To meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including those of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Payments
When you pay online, you pay on a secure page run by our payment provider, Intuit (QuickBooks Payments). Your card or bank account details go directly to Intuit. Kern never sees or stores your full card or bank account number. Intuit tells us the payment was made so we can apply it to your account. Intuit's handling of your payment details is covered by Intuit's own privacy policy.
Who we share information with
We do not sell your information or share it for advertising or marketing. We share it only:
- With our payment and accounting provider, Intuit (QuickBooks), so we can bill you and process and record your payments.
- With the service providers that keep this website running, such as our email delivery provider (which sends your bills and account emails) and our website security and delivery network. They may use your information only to provide their service to us.
- When the law or our regulators require it, or to protect the safety of our customers, staff and systems.
Emails we send
Our account emails, such as bills, past-due notices and account messages, contain a small invisible image. When your email program loads it, our email delivery provider tells us that the email was opened and when. We use this only to confirm that you received important account information, for example when a bill is in question, and never for advertising or marketing. Some email programs load images automatically, and others block them, so this is not always exact. If you prefer, you can turn off automatic image loading in your email program; our emails will still arrive and can be read without it.
Cookies
We use only the cookies this site needs to work: to keep you signed in and to protect your account and our forms from misuse. We do not use advertising cookies, and this website runs no third-party tracking or analytics.
How long we keep it
We keep our records indefinitely, including after an account is closed. This covers account, billing, payment and service records, messages, and security records such as the record of sign-ins. As a regulated utility, we keep a complete history of the service we provide.
Security
Kern's records are stored on our own servers in Camden County, Missouri. Our payment and service providers keep the information they handle for us under their own policies. We use safeguards such as encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, optional two-step verification, and limits on repeated failed sign-ins. No system is completely secure, so please never send payment card numbers or passwords by email or through the contact form.
Your choices
- You can view and update your contact details and email notice settings in the customer portal, or by contacting us.
- You can stop text messages at any time by replying STOP.
- You can ask us to correct information that is wrong.
- Because we keep our records indefinitely, closing your account does not delete its history.
Children
This website and the customer portal are meant for adults who are responsible for a utility account. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the new version here and update the date at the top.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or your information? Email [email protected], call 573-410-3377, or write to Kern Utility Co., 10 Camden Ct NE Suite 1C, Camdenton, MO 65020.