Montana Rural Water Systems, Inc. (MRWS) is a Montana non-profit association that serves drinking water and wastewater systems across the state. This policy explains what information our website, mrws.org, collects, why, who helps us handle it, and the choices you have. We do not sell your information, and we do not show advertising based on it.
What we collect
Information you give us
- Training registrations: the contact’s name, e-mail, phone, organization, public water system (PWS) ID and address; and for each attendee their name, e-mail, title, operator certification number and, for some classes, phone and mailing address (for example to mail course books).
- Memberships: your organization’s name, PWS ID, addresses, phone, website and region, and the names, titles, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of its contacts. Associate members also give a short description for the member directory.
- Your account: your e-mail address and name, and a password if you choose to set one (we only keep it in a scrambled form that cannot be read back). When a registration or membership is confirmed, the people on it can sign in with their e-mail address to see it; nobody needs a password. If you are part of a member organization, your role on its account (Admin or Member), the organization’s roster of operators (names, e-mail, phone, mailing address, operator number) and any requests to join it.
- Payments: the payer’s name, e-mail and organization, what was paid for and the amount. Card numbers are typed on Stripe’s secure payment page. They never reach our website, and we never see or keep them.
- Job openings and items for sale: the post itself and your contact details. What we publish is shown on the form; your private contact details are only for our staff.
- Messages: what you write in our contact form, with your name, e-mail, phone and organization.
Information collected automatically
- Technical details: like every website, our servers see your IP address and browser type when you visit. Our servers keep short, rolling logs for security and to fix problems.
- Security records: when you send a form or sign in, we may record your IP address and browser to stop spam and abuse. Contact-form messages and job or for-sale posts are stored with the IP address they came from.
- Signed-in sessions: while you are signed in, we record the IP address and browser of the session, so that you and our staff can spot a sign-in that is not yours.
- Online class attendance: for our live online classes, GoTo Webinar tells us when each attendee joined and left, how many minutes they attended, and how many poll questions they answered or questions they asked. We use this for continuing education credit.
We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools on this website.
How we use it
- To register you for classes, hold your seats, send confirmations, join links and reminders, and keep class rosters.
- To record training attendance and report continuing education credits for certified operators.
- To run memberships: applications, renewals and renewal reminders, member prices, and the member directory.
- To take payments and send receipts and invoices.
- To run your account and let organization Admins manage who has access.
- To answer your messages and publish job and for-sale posts we approve.
- To send our newsletters and announcements to members (see “E-mail” below).
- To keep the website secure and working.
Who sees it, and who helps us
MRWS staff see what they need to do their work. We share information only as described here:
- Your organization: the Admins and Members of a member organization’s account can see its registrations, receipts, roster and people.
- The public: associate members are listed in our online member directory (name, description, website, phone, e-mail, address, logo, and the contacts you choose to list) unless you ask us not to list you. Approved job and for-sale posts are public, with the contact details shown on the form.
- Montana DEQ: for continuing education credit, we report attendees’ names, operator certification numbers and attendance to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s operator certification program.
- Stripe processes card payments into MRWS’s own Stripe account. Stripe receives the payer’s e-mail, what was bought and the amount, plus everything typed on its payment page.
- Brevo delivers the e-mails our website sends (sign-in codes, confirmations, receipts, reminders).
- Mailchimp sends our newsletters. We give it the names and e-mail addresses of our member organizations’ contacts, with tags for membership type and region.
- GoTo Webinar runs our live online classes. It receives each attendee’s name and e-mail so that everyone gets a personal join link.
- Google suggests addresses while you type an address on our forms, when that feature is on. Only what you type in the address field is sent to Google.
- Expert Overflow, the company that built and runs our website for us, hosts it on servers in the United States and can access the information to keep the website working.
- Others when the law requires it, or to protect people’s safety or MRWS’s rights.
Each of these services has its own privacy policy. Our conference registration app and Sun Coast Learning’s online courses are separate services with their own privacy policies.
- E-mails about something you did (sign-in codes, registration confirmations, join links, receipts, invoices, membership renewal reminders) are part of the service. You cannot unsubscribe from these, but they only come when they relate to your registration, account or membership.
- Newsletters and announcements are sent through Mailchimp to our member organizations’ contacts. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link, and we respect it.
- Registering for a class does not add you to our newsletter list.
Cookies and your browser
- One cookie, and only when you sign in. When you sign in to your account, we set one cookie (named
__Host-mrws_session) that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days. It is removed when you sign out. You do not need it to browse the website, register for a class or pay. - No tracking cookies. We set no advertising or analytics cookies, and we do not use cookie banners because we have nothing to ask your permission for.
- Your browser’s own storage. To save you retyping, our forms keep what you have typed in your browser while you fill them in (including names, e-mails and addresses). It stays on your device: it is kept only in that browser tab, for up to a day, and is cleared when you close the tab or sign out. If you use “near me” on the training calendar, your approximate town is remembered on your device. A few small settings (such as a closed announcement) are remembered the same way.
- Videos and maps. Most of our videos load from YouTube only when you press play, in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. The map on our contact page comes from OpenStreetMap. Once loaded, these services may set their own cookies.
- Payments. Stripe’s payment page sets its own cookies to process your payment securely and prevent fraud.
- Staff. Our staff’s sign-in to the office back end uses WordPress’s own sign-in cookies. Visitors never get these.
How long we keep it
- Training registrations and attendance: as long as operators may need proof of their training for certification.
- Payment records: as long as tax and accounting rules require, normally seven years.
- Memberships and accounts: while the membership or account is in use, and then as long as we need them for our records. Ask us if you want an account closed.
- Messages and posts: as long as needed to answer or publish them, and for our records.
- Server logs and backups: for a short time, on a rolling basis.
How we protect it
The website runs over a secure (HTTPS) connection. The public website is separate from the office system that stores your information, which only our staff can sign in to, with strong passwords and extra security checks. Card details are handled only by Stripe. Passwords are stored scrambled. We keep backups and limit who can see what. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will tell you if a problem affects it.
Your choices
- See and correct your information: sign in to My account, or ask our office. Organization Admins keep their organization’s details, people and roster up to date there.
- Close your account or delete information: ask our office. We will delete what we can; some records (payments, training attendance) must be kept, as explained above.
- Stop newsletters: use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter, or ask us.
- Member directory: ask us to change or remove your organization’s listing or contacts.
- Use the website without an account: you can browse, register and pay without signing in.
Children
Our website is for water and wastewater professionals. It is not meant for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.
Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when our website or our services change. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.
Contact us
Questions or requests about your information: call or e-mail our office.
Montana Rural Water Systems
9 3rd St N #304, Great Falls, MT 59401
Phone: (406) 454-1151
E-mail: MTRuralWater@mrws.org