Member Spotlight

Metro Water Recovery in Denver, Colorado believes there is no such thing as “waste” water. As a headwaters state, every drop of water in the river basins is precious and impacts public health, recreation, aquatic life, agriculture, and drinking water. While Metro Water Recovery’s commitment to stewardship has had a positive impact on the region’s environment for decades, it has not achieved this goal alone.

In early 2022, Metro rebranded the organization and changed its name to Metro Water Recovery (formerly Metro Wastewater Reclamation District). From there, they made a dedicated effort to be more outward facing in communications. Metro embarked on a project to develop an interactive tool that would visually demonstrate to the larger metropolitan Denver community the daily work done at the treatment plant by the more than 400 employees. While it can be a complicated topic to relay to a community, it is also quite simple. Metro cleans more than 130 million gallons of wastewater per day and returns it to the South Platte River – water that is safe for public health, wildlife, and the environment.

Metro developed a new webpage titled, How We Transform Wastewater. The interactive tool provides on-demand information about every aspect of the public service Metro provides. Stakeholders are invited to take a virtual tour of the treatment facility to see how the water moves through each step of the treatment process. It also highlights key details about timing and costs of current and capital improvements, along with innovative process optimization efforts. The webpage serves as an introduction to Metro’s outreach and education programs that offer in-person tours and site visits.

NACWA awarded the Metro Water Recovery a 2023 National Environmental Achievement Award in the Public Information & Education, E-Media category for its informative and interactive webpage. Congratulations to Metro Water Recovery and everyone involved!