CAREER: CAS-Climate: Environmental Sustainability of Combined versus Separate Sewer Systems along the U.S. West Coast

该CAREER项目的综合研究和教育活动旨在促进对沿海沿着慢性压力源的科学理解，如海平面上升（SLR）及其对废水基础设施的相关可持续性影响。该项目将分析SLR引起的地下水变浅的相互关联的环境和社会层面，同时考虑到潜在的适应战略的影响。当上升的海水向内陆推进时，就会发生变浅。密度更大的海水位于浅淡水含水层之下，将其向上推。因此，SLR可能会扰乱距离海岸线数公里的地下城市系统。特别关注的是废水基础设施受到SLR驱动的地下水变浅和降水强化影响的过程。预计中断将导致下水道溢出的可能性增加，特别是在缺乏能够抵御地下水渗透的优质基础设施的社区。该项目以弱势群体和代表性不足的社区为研究地点，旨在（i）发现SLR和降水强化在多大程度上可能导致沿海废水系统中地下水流量的系统性增加，（ii）评估下水道溢出对易受不成比例影响的边缘化社区的生态毒性影响; ㈢开发一种新颖的双重机器学习范式，以提高下水道镜头大数据分析的效率，系统地评估地下水渗透风险;量化适应战略的可持续性，方法是制定一个共同框架，让得不到充分服务的利害关系方就需要评估的挑战和缓解措施提供投入，同时了解长期可持续性的影响。为了支持教育负担能力，该项目将开发开放的教育资源，使许多本科生在项目期间和以后受益。它还将通过关于基础设施和可持续性的年度研讨会吸引K-12学生和教师。此外，该项目将开发一门新课程，作为SDSU土木和环境专业的技术高年级选修课，以满足PI部门在基础设施可持续性领域的课程需求。作为SDSU，西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）的教员，PI的目标是通过现有的招聘计划，积极吸引来自代表性不足群体的学生，以扩大参与。该项目将通过一个关于SLR可持续性影响的讲习班，吸引公共工程部门的工程师和规划师参与。这项研究的结果将提交发表在同行评审的期刊上，并在科学和工业会议上发表，如工业环境协会（IEA）的年度培训活动，一个非美国加利福尼亚州的一个营利组织，为工业单位提供教育，以促进环境合规。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The integrated research and educational activities of this CAREER project target advancing scientific understanding of chronic stressors along the coast, such as Sea-Level Rise (SLR), and their associated sustainability implications for wastewater infrastructure. The project will analyze the interconnected environmental and social dimensions of SLR-induced groundwater shoaling by taking into account the impacts of potential adaptation strategies. Shoaling occurs when rising seawater pushes inland. The denser marine water underlies shallow freshwater aquifers, pushing them upward. Thus, SLR is likely to disrupt urban systems below the ground, for kilometers away from the coastline. Of particular focus are the processes through which wastewater infrastructure is impacted by SLR-driven groundwater shoaling and precipitation intensification. Disruptions are expected to cause an increased likelihood of sewer overflows, especially in communities that lack quality infrastructure resilient against groundwater infiltration. Communities with vulnerable and underrepresented populations are the place-based locations for study in this project.The project seeks to (i) discover to what extent SLR and precipitation intensification may result in a systemic increase of groundwater flux in coastal wastewater systems, (ii) assess sewer overflow-related eco-toxicity impacts on marginalized communities that are susceptible to a disproportionate impact; (iii) develop a novel, twofold machine learning paradigm to boost the efficacy of sewer footage big data analytics for the systemic evaluation of groundwater infiltration risks; and (iv) quantify the sustainability of adaptation strategies by developing a mutual framework where underserved stakeholders provide input into what challenges and mitigations are to be assessed, while learning longer-term sustainability implications. In support of educational affordability, this project will develop open educational resources benefiting many undergraduate students during the project and beyond. It will also engage K-12 students and teachers through yearly workshops on infrastructure and sustainability. Additionally, the project will develop a new course as a technical upper-division elective for civil and environmental majors at SDSU to fill curricular needs in PI’s department in the area of infrastructure sustainability. As a faculty member at SDSU, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), the PI aims to actively engage students from underrepresented groups through existing recruiting initiatives for broadening participation. The project will engage engineers and planners in public works departments through a workshop on sustainability implications of SLR. The findings of this research will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific and industrial conferences, such as the annual training event of Industrial Environmental Association (IEA), a non-profit organization in CA that provides education for industrial units to facilitate environmental compliance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.