Members of Metro's Community Outreach meeting a patron at a rodeo.

Thank You For Taking Our Community Survey

Posted on in Currents

In April and May 2025, Metro Water Recovery (Metro) conducted a comprehensive community survey! Sent via mail to 15,000 random residents within Metro’s service area, the invitations directed people to an online survey offered in both English and Spanish. Receiving 693 responses, representing a 5% response rate, Metro is using the survey results to gain deeper insights into our community.   

The survey focused on: 

  • Awareness and perceptions of Metro 
  • Knowledge, interests, and values around environmental and water-related issues 
  • Communication preferences 

Metro previously conducted a community survey in 2022 after our rebranding. That survey focused on public awareness of Metro, and relevant questions were used as comparisons for the 2025 survey. 

The Results 

Brand awareness is growing steadily! 

  • Brand awareness increased from 15% to 18%, up by 3% since the 2022 survey 
  • There is greater awareness of Metro within a 5-mile radius of our Robert W. Hite Treatment Facility (RWHTF) in North Denver or our Northern Treatment Plant (NTP) in Brighton, with 31% of respondents near RWHTF being familiar with Metro and 27% of respondents near NTP being familiar with Metro 

To know us is to like us! 

  • The majority of sentiment for Metro was either positive or neutral (sentiment refers to opinion or attitude), with 47% positive and 49% neutral among survey respondents who know us 

The community cares about water issues! 

  • 67% of respondents were either highly or moderately concerned about water quality in rivers and streams  
  • 48% want to learn more about what happens to water after it goes down a drain 
  • 50% want to know how they can help improve water quality 

We’re reaching new audiences! 

  • Metro’s communication channels align with community preferences 
  • The most popular option for obtaining non-emergency information was direct mailing or flyers (41%), followed by email (31%) and Metro’s website (21%) 
2 members of Metro's Community Affairs team meet with patrons at a rodeo.

Next Steps 

Metro will continue to focus our outreach efforts on increasing brand awareness, involving the community in Metro’s work, and improving communication with partners and neighbors. For example, we will: 

  • Consider a local marketing campaign 
  • Foster intentional partnerships with neighbors to build relationships and trust 
  • Continue education efforts for all age levels with the inclusion of bilingual offerings 

 
A big thank you to all of our community members who took Metro’s survey! We appreciate you taking the time! Your insights will have an impact on our engagement efforts for years to come.  

We want to hear from YOU! Do you want to learn more about wastewater treatment? Do you want to explore partnership opportunities with us? Let’s connect! Please reach out to Anne Marie Boger at aboger@metrowaterrecovery.com.