LakeWatch ("we", "the site") is a free, independent dashboard that re-publishes public water-level data for Oakland County, Michigan lakes. This page explains what data we and our partners collect from your visit, and how it's used.
We do not require an account, login, or any personal information to view the dashboard. We don't run a newsletter, don't ask for your email, and don't have any contact forms that send to us automatically.
Our PHP backend logs the following ephemerally for rate limiting and abuse prevention: your IP address, the URL requested, and the timestamp. These records are not retained for longer than is needed to apply rate limits (typically a rolling 10-minute window) and are never associated with personal identity.
The dashboard itself does not set cookies or use browser local storage for tracking. The only client-side state is incidental (page-fragment routing in the React app).
Our advertising partner (Google AdSense, see below) may set cookies to serve and measure ads. You can manage these via the partner's controls, listed below.
Google AdSense. We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites, and to measure ad performance. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings or aboutads.info. Google's own privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy. As required by EU and California regulations, Google AdSense supports the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework where applicable.
Open-Meteo. Weather data is fetched server-side by our PHP backend from Open-Meteo. Your browser does not connect to Open-Meteo directly. We send Open-Meteo only the requested lake's coordinates — no personal information.
IONOS. The site is hosted on IONOS shared hosting in the United States. IONOS may maintain its own server-level access logs per its hosting agreement.
Oakland County WRC. The water level data we display is sourced from publicly published reports of the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner. We retrieve those reports server-side; your browser does not connect to oakgov.com to load any part of this page.
We don't sell, rent, or share your personal data with any party. We don't run our own analytics or tracking. We don't use any social-media tracking pixels. We don't profile our visitors. We don't send marketing email because we don't have your email.
LakeWatch is a general-audience information site. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through this site, please contact us and we will delete it.
Because we don't collect or retain personal information beyond ephemeral rate-limit logs, there is generally nothing for us to access, correct, or delete on your behalf. If you have questions about advertising-related data collection, please use the Google opt-out links above. For any other privacy question, reach out via the Contact page.
We may update this policy as the site changes (for example, if we add or remove a third-party service). The "Last updated" date at the top will always reflect when it was last revised.