Effective date: August 21, 2026.
Scope and organization
CYWater is the International Association of Contemporary Young Scholars in Water Sciences. This notice applies to personal information handled through cywater.org, CYWater accounts, individual membership, events, association programs, partnership enquiries and related communications.
Information CYWater collects
- Account and contact information: username, name, email address, email-verification state, account creation, sign-in and security records.
- Professional and membership information: institution, region, role, career stage, membership level and dates, eligibility records, profile information and directory privacy choices.
- Transaction information: orders, prices, currency, payment status, refunds, renewal status and limited processor references. Stripe processes payment credentials; CYWater does not receive or store full payment-card numbers.
- Participation information: event registrations and attendance, forum posts and replies, association-program submissions and votes, and partnership enquiries and review status.
- Communications and technical information: messages sent to CYWater, transactional-email status, browser and device information, and limited network or server logs used for security and reliability.
How CYWater uses information
CYWater uses personal information to provide and secure accounts; verify identity and eligibility; administer membership, payments, refunds, events and programs; provide member benefits; moderate community content; respond to requests; maintain records; prevent fraud and abuse; and comply with accounting, tax and legal obligations. Where applicable, processing is based on a transaction or requested service, consent, CYWater's legitimate operational needs, or a legal obligation.
Directory and public content
The member directory is private by default. A profile is public only when an eligible member opts in, and only fields that member separately selects are displayed. Email addresses are never directory fields. Forum posts, replies, shortlisted program entries and other content intentionally submitted for publication may be visible under the applicable program rules.
Service providers and disclosure
CYWater uses service providers including Hostinger and WordPress for hosting, Paid Memberships Pro for membership records, Stripe for payment processing, Postmark for transactional email and Google Workspace for association communications. CYWater may disclose only the information reasonably needed by these providers, authorized association personnel, professional advisers, or public authorities when required by law. CYWater does not sell personal information.
Retention, security and international access
CYWater retains information only for the periods described in its Data Retention and Account Closure Policy or as required for accounting, dispute, fraud-prevention, governance or legal purposes. CYWater uses reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, but no internet service can guarantee absolute security. Because CYWater serves an international community and uses service providers in multiple locations, information may be processed outside the user's country subject to applicable safeguards.
Your choices and requests
Users can correct account information, change directory choices, request an export of supported WordPress data and request account closure. A closure request does not automatically erase transaction, refund, event, governance, moderation or security records that CYWater must retain. Requests should be sent from the account email to membership@cywater.org. CYWater may take reasonable steps to verify the requester before acting.
Children
CYWater services are intended for researchers, students and professionals who can lawfully create an account and accept these terms. A person who cannot legally provide the required consent must not create an account without authorization from a parent or legal guardian where permitted.
Contact and changes
Privacy and membership questions: membership@cywater.org. General correspondence: contact@cywater.org. Material changes will be posted with a revised effective date and, when appropriate, communicated to affected account holders.