EAGER: PPER Developing Drought-Resilient Communities by Utilizing Acrylic Concrete Structures for Rainwater Harvesting

该研究项目在德克萨斯州圣安吉洛的雨水收集丙烯酸混凝土结构的设计，建造和利用中使用了公民科学和众包，该地区容易发生持续干旱。通过让公民参与水取样和水质测试，该项目深入了解这些雨水收集系统中丙烯酸混凝土沥滤液的沥滤情况，并有助于开发低成本、可持续的雨水收集系统，以支持人类对收集的水的消费。在这个研究项目中，公民科学家通过在其后方收集雨水，通过一个移动的友好平台提交收集的雨水测量结果，回应关于雨水系统的调查和采访，并参加社区研讨会，以继续和适应项目设计。通过这一参与过程，该研究项目旨在通过在项目设计和实施中考虑当地的认识论和社会经济地位，扩大与弱势群体参与公民科学水质项目的文献。该项目有三个目标，以促进新兴的雨水收集技术：1）提高丙烯酸混凝土的设计和制造水平，将其用作低成本、可持续的雨水收集系统，2）提高对收集的雨水中丙烯酸混凝土沥滤液的认识，将其用途从灌溉目的扩大到人类消费，以及，3）填补了文献中关于弱势群体的当地知识如何在以水为中心的公民科学中发挥重要作用的空白。 项目设计通过三个讲习班，即“建筑”、“水”和“下一步”，不断进行社区外联、参与和评估，逐步招募和引导参与者完成研究项目。该项目正在制定一个框架，以促进社区成员和弱势群体通过土木工程研究参与工程。

This research project uses both citizen science and crowdsourcing in the design, construction, and utilization of acrylic concrete structures for rainwater harvesting in San Angelo, Texas, an area prone to persistent droughts. By engaging citizens in water sampling and water quality testing this project gains insight into leaching of acrylic concrete leachate in these rainwater harvesting systems and aids in the development of low-cost, sustainable rainwater harvesting systems that can support human consumption of this harvested water. In this research project, citizen scientists participate by collecting rainwater in their backwards, submitting measurements of captured rainwater through a mobile friendly platform, responding to surveys and interviews on the rainwater system, and participating in community workshops for continued and adaptive project design. Through this engagement process this research project seeks to expand the literature on engaging with vulnerable populations in citizen science water quality projects by considering local epistemologies and socioeconomic status in project design and implementation. This project has three goals to advance emerging rainwater harvesting technology: 1) advance the state of design and manufacturing of acrylic concrete that is used as a low-cost, sustainable rainwater harvesting system, 2) advance understanding of acrylic concrete leachate in the captured rainwater expand its use from irrigation purposes to human consumption, and, 3) fill a gap in the literature on how local knowledge in vulnerable populations plays an important role in water centric citizen science. The project design has continuous community outreach, engagement and assessment through three workshops titles, "construction", "water", and, "next steps", that recruit and take participants through the research project, step by step. The project is generating a framework to facilitate engagement of community members and vulnerable populations in engineering through civil engineering research.