1. Who We Are

Colorado River Monitor (coloradorivermonitor.com) is an independent informational website that tracks water levels, drought conditions, and shortage updates for the Colorado River system. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, USGS, or any government agency.

2. Information We Collect

We collect minimal data necessary to operate the site:

• Email address — only if you voluntarily subscribe to our mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send.
• Usage analytics — we use Vercel Analytics to collect anonymous, aggregated page view data (pages visited, referrers, device type). No personally identifiable information is stored in analytics.
• Server logs — standard web server logs including IP addresses, browser type, and timestamps are retained for up to 30 days for security and debugging purposes.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To send you water level updates and drought alerts if you have subscribed.
• To understand how the site is used and improve content and performance.
• To diagnose technical problems and maintain site security.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Email Mailing List

If you subscribe to our mailing list, your email address is stored securely via Resend (our email service provider). Resend's privacy policy applies to how they handle subscriber data: resend.com/legal/privacy-policy. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us directly.

5. Cookies

Colorado River Monitor does not use tracking cookies or advertising cookies. Functional session cookies may be set by our hosting provider (Vercel) as part of normal infrastructure operation. We do not use cookies for behavioral advertising or cross-site tracking.

In the future, we may introduce Google AdSense or similar contextual advertising. If we do so, this policy will be updated to reflect the cookie and data practices of those services before they are enabled.

6. Third-Party Services

• Vercel — hosting and analytics. See vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
• Resend — email delivery for mailing list subscribers.
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) — public API used to fetch reservoir data. No user data is sent to USBR.

7. Data Retention

Email addresses on our mailing list are retained until you unsubscribe. Server logs are deleted after 30 days. Analytics data is aggregated and anonymized and may be retained indefinitely for trend analysis.

8. Your Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of any personal data we hold about you by contacting us at the address below. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

This site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "last updated" date. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

For privacy-related questions or requests, please use our contact form.