Promoting Sustainable Water Demand Management Through Community Water Literacy: A Case Study From Aurora, Colorado ( USA )

Long‐term drought and aridification challenge water managers in the southwestern United States to ensure water security for growing urban populations. As reliable supply dwindles, managers must increasingly rely on demand management strategies whose success is predicated on community water literacy, an aggregate of water knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. High community water literacy can build trust in water managers, fuel timely responses to drought, and expose water inequities. Following a 2002 drought that caused near‐failure to their water system, Aurora Water (Colorado, US) has become a state leader in demand management and water literacy programs. To understand the intersections between experiences, conservation, and water literacy, we surveyed residents and conducted focus groups in 2021–2022. Our results reveal structures that both help and hinder community water literacy. Lived experiences of drought and engagement with Aurora Water's outreach programs positively correlate with measures of water literacy. However, social dynamics, contradictory perceptions, and certain institutions introduce barriers to residential water conservation. These findings highlight the need for coordinated cross‐institutional approaches to strengthen water literacy as a foundation for demand management. Interventions that align municipal practices and community governance structures can help reduce these barriers, reinforce pro‐conservation norms, and advance urban water sustainability.