About

Andrea M. Dietrich is a professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her areas of interest include drinking water quality, treatment, and infrastructure; chemosensory analysis of environmental contaminants and tastes-and-odors in drinking water; fate and transport of organic and inorganic chemicals; and environmental analytical chemistry. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Boston College, an M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Drexel University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Dietrich is actively involved in teaching, research, and outreach at Virginia Tech. She has served as a consultant to industry for drinking water quality and treatment, including identifying tastes, odors, particles, and color in drinking water. Her professional leadership includes participation in organizations such as the International Water Association (IWA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), and American Chemical Society (ACS). She has received numerous awards, including the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean's Excellence in Research Award, the AWWA Golden Spigot Award for Service, and the Teaching Excellence Award from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association. Her research projects focus on sustainable materials use for drinking water infrastructure, impacts of lining materials on water quality, and the integration of customer complaint data with online water quality data as an early warning system, among others.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Nuclear chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Environmental engineering
• Environmental science
• Chemical engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Geology
• Photochemistry
• Mineralogy
• Environmental chemistry

Selected publications

• Aesthetics and Consumer Satisfaction: Updating <scp>EPA</scp> 's Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels

  American Water Works Association · 2026-03-13

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Key Takeaways The US Environmental Protection Agency's secondary maximum contaminant levels (SMCLs) have not been updated since they were first published in 1979, while water professionals’ understanding of the science and engineering related to aesthetic issues has expanded. Consumers expect their tap water to be colorless, with acceptable taste and no odor; the SMCLs provide important guidance for delivering palatable drinking water and enhancing consumer satisfaction. Information is provided to support updating the SMCLs—now 47 years old and based on outdated science—to help utilities meet 21st‐century consumer expectations of high‐quality drinking water in terms of taste, odor, and appearance.

  PublisherDOI

• Rapidan Service Authority Water Contamination Incident: An Analysis

  American Water Works Association · 2026-04-15

  article

  Key Takeaways Contamination incidents can catch water systems off guard if they are not prepared. System staff and primacy agencies must be ready to respond quickly with transparent lines of communication. Emergency response plans should include all stakeholders that could be affected by system failures as well as those involved in the response. Involvement of subject matter experts and analytical capabilities for targeted and nontargeted agents can aid in identifying the contaminant(s) and resolving the incident.

  PublisherDOI

• Improving Water Quality Management With Artificial Intelligence

  American Water Works Association · 2026-05-13

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Acesulfame K and p-Arsanilic acid synergically impair rice seed germination and seedling growth: A bitter-sweetener, perilous symphony

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Operators Need to Know Manganese Aesthetics

  Opflow · 2025-11-12

  articleOpen access

  Understanding how manganese can negatively affect drinking water aesthetics can help operators know when to act.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Catalytical dehalogenation of HAAs through electrolysis on VB12-modified electrode: Kinetics, intermediates, and mechanisms

  Colloids and Surfaces A Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects · 2025-04-09

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Promote Water Industry Careers Through Academic Collaborations

  American Water Works Association · 2025-02-13 · 1 citations

  article

  Key Takeaways A gap exists between academia and the water industry; utilities and municipalities can bridge this divide by reaching out to students through conferences, job fairs, and similar events. Water utilities and municipalities must form relationships with colleges and universities to educate students about water careers and mentorship opportunities to meet staffing needs. AWWA student chapters are an effective way to foster workforce development by engaging with students in technical fields and helping them make connections in the water industry.

  PublisherDOI

• Up and down – The impact of calcaneal fracture on medial gastrocnemius fascicle behavior and ankle biomechanics during heel-rise performance

  Gait & Posture · 2025-04-15

  articleOpen access

  Calcaneal fractures (CF) often result in reduced foot mobility and plantar flexor strength, despite intensive rehabilitation. While treatment mostly focuses on bone restoration, structural and functional adaptation of the ankle plantar flexors during movement is less understood. To investigate medial gastrocnemius fascicle behavior and ankle biomechanics in patients with CF during bipedal heel-rise. Repetitive heel-rise was analyzed in 18 patients with unilateral CF (BMI: 27.3 ± 3.2 kgm −2 , Age: 50 ± 13 years) and 18 healthy controls (BMI: 26.3 ± 3 kgm −2 , Age: 48 ± 11 years) using motion capture and ultrasound. Patients were measured 3 and 12 months after surgery. Dynamic gastrocnemius fascicle length, pennation angle, thickness, ankle angle, ground reaction force, heel lift, and Böhler angle were assessed. Between 3 and 12 months, pennation angle in patients increased by up to 33 % (p < 0.05), while fascicle length and thickness remained unchanged. Ankle plantarflexion and heel lift showed no improvement, while ground reaction force and symmetry increased by 12 % and 55 %, respectively. Compared to controls, patient’s fascicle parameters showed no differences, while a reduced maximum plantarflexion and heel lift by up to 41 % remained. Ground reaction force recovered to control levels at 12 months. The average Böhler angle was 21.6° (9.8–41.6°). Impaired foot stability and alignment originating from altered calcaneal anatomy after fracture, rather than muscle deficits, primarily contribute to a reduced ankle joint function one year post-surgery. • Gastrocnemius fascicle dynamics return to normal levels during heel-rise. • Ankle joint plantarflexion function remains impaired one-year after surgery. • Altered calcaneal alignment primarily contributes to reduced ankle function.

  PublisherDOI

• How Do Wildfires Affect Drinking Water Flavor?

  Opflow · 2025-05-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Smoky odors and flavors can plague a drinking water supply long after a wildfire and are becoming more prevalent with the increase in wildfire danger. Water utilities can rise to the challenge by being prepared.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Method Development, Interlaboratory Comparison, and Occurrence Study for 19 Taste and Odor Compounds by Solid‐Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

  AWWA Water Science · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Public water systems (PWSs) need robust taste and odor (T&amp;O) methods for a diverse range of compounds to proactively monitor their systems from source to tap and make informed treatment decisions. In this study, Standard Method 6040D T&amp;O compounds by solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was revised to include 19 T&amp;O compounds with various odor descriptors including earthy, musty, grassy, woody, fishy, septic, fruity, and sweet. An interlaboratory comparison was performed to determine method accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and ruggedness. Three laboratories achieved passing quality control (QC) acceptance criteria for all 19 compounds, and one laboratory achieved passing QC acceptance criteria for 14 compounds. In this article, occurrence data and method applications are also discussed, which will allow PWSs to monitor diverse classes of T&amp;O compounds and make informed, proactive treatment decisions to maintain high aesthetic quality for their customers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Engineering and Chemistry of Sustainable Polyethylene Water Infrastructure

  NSF · $358k · 2008–2012

• RAPID: Role of Physical, Chemical and Diffusion Properties of 4-Methyl-cyclohexane methanol in Remediating Contaminated Water and Water Pipes

  NSF · $70k · 2014–2016

• BE-MUSES: Towards Sustainable Materials Use for Drinking Water Infrastructure

  NSF · $1.7M · 2003–2010

• Assessing Inhalation Exposure to Aerosolized Contaminants from Drinking Water

  NSF · $300k · 2016–2022

Frequent coauthors

• Daniel L. Gallagher

  Virginia Tech

  47 shared

• Susan E. Duncan

  20 shared

• Xiaoyan Ma

  Zhejiang University of Technology

  18 shared

• Gary A. Burlingame

  18 shared

• Juneseok Lee

  Manhattan College

  13 shared

• Paul A. Estabrooks

  University of Utah

  12 shared

• Andrew J. Whelton

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  12 shared

• Ewa J. Kleczyk

  11 shared

Awards & honors

• Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean's Excellence in Re…
• American Water Works Association 2008 Golden Spigot Award fo…
• Science, Technology and Policy Fellow at the American Associ…
• EPA Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Scie…