Privacy

The Hydropower Research Institute complies with the applicable International, Federal, and State laws and regulations regarding the personal information of its Members, Contributors, and Researchers. Privacy is central to the HRI’s mission and updates to the HRI Privacy Statement will change to ensure compliance. 

HRI Privacy Statement

The Hydropower Research Institute (HRI) cares about the privacy of your personal information and wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use, and disclose that data.

This Privacy Statement covers the collection, use, and disclosure of data collected via our website. This Privacy Statement also describes your legal rights in relation to such data. 

Please note that this Privacy Statement addresses the data collection and handling practices associated with HRI only. Other websites are governed by their own privacy statements. 

By using the HRI website, you are subject to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Statement.

Topics:

• Processing personal data
• What data do we collect?
• How do we collect your data?
• How do we use your data?
• How do we store your data?
• Marketing
• What are your data protection rights?
• Cookies
• Privacy policies of other websites
• Changes to our privacy statement
• How to contact us

Processing Personal Data 

Applicable law in certain countries requires us to set out in this Privacy Statement the legal basis upon which we rely, in order to process personal data.  

HRI operations – HRI processes your personal data to create and maintain a user account within our system. 

Contractual obligation – HRI may process your personal data if it is necessary to comply with a contract we have with you or your organization. 

If you have questions or concerns about the legal basis upon which we collect and use your personal data, you can contact us at Support@HRIData.org. 

What data do we collect?

HRI collects personal identification information (name, title, email address, phone number, and hydropower areas of expertise or interest). 

How do we collect your data?

You directly provide HRI with most of the data collected.  Data is collected and processed when you: 

• Register a new account in the HRI
• Log into the HRI website
• Request and run a report in the HRI Platform
• Recover and manage users’ HRI credentials

How do we use your data?

The HRI collects your data so we can:

• Create and manage an account in HRI
• Facilitate collaboration between members

How do we store your data?

The HRI securely stores your data in an encrypted cloud-based database with limited access.

Personal information is stored until the user or associated company requests an individual’s personal information be deleted.  

Marketing

HRI does not participate in any data collection related with or intended for marketing purposes.

What are your data protection rights?

HRI would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following: 

The right to access – You have the right to request copies of your personal data. 

The right to rectification – You have the right to request that HRI correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request HRI to complete any information you believe is incomplete. 

The right to erasure – You have the right to request HRI erase your personal data with the understanding that data erasure will lead to deletion of the user’s account. 

The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request HRI restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. You have the right to restrict the processing of your data if:  

• You contest the accuracy of your personal data and HRI is verifying the accuracy of the data
• The data has been unlawfully processed and you oppose erasure and request restriction instead
• HRI no longer needs your personal data, but you wish for the HRI to keep it in order to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim; or
• An individual has objected to processing their data, and HRI is considering whether legitimate grounds to override those of the individual. 

The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the HRI’s processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. 

The right to data portability – You have the right to request HRI transfer the data collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions. 

If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at our email: Support@HRIData.org  

Cookies

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information. When you visit our websites, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology. 

To learn more about cookies, please visit https://www.allaboutcookies.org. 

How do we use cookies? 

HRI uses cookies in a range of ways to improve your experience on our website, including: 

• Keeping you signed in
• Keeping your session secure from attacks
• Understanding how you use our website 

What types of cookies do we use? 

There are several different types of cookies, however, our website uses: 

• Functionality –HRI uses these cookies so we recognize you on our website and remember your previously selected preferences. We also use these cookies to keep you logged in and secure while on the website.
• Google Analytics – We use Google Analytics, a web analytics tool that may set cookies in your browser, to help us understand how visitors engage with the Site. To learn more about Google Analytics’ data practices, please visit https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en. For opt-out options specific to Google Analytics, please visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. 

Privacy policies of other websites

This Privacy Statement does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy practices of any third parties, including those that operate websites to which the HRI website links. The inclusion of a link on the HRI website does not imply that we or our affiliates endorse the practices of the linked website. 

Changes to our privacy statement

HRI keeps its privacy statement under regular review and places any updates on this web page. This privacy statement was last updated on December 23, 2025. 

How to contact us

If you have questions about HRI’s privacy statement, the data we hold about you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us at: Support@HRIData.org