Jones Road Wrap Up
We have a lot to report on the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site.
Sampling at area homes wraps up. For several months, THEA has been working with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) to test homes near the Superfund Site for contamination. Our joint team checked the air and water at 55 different houses in the area. We chose houses inside and outside the EPA’s declared boundaries for the Superfund impact area.
Why? When wastewater was dumped 25 years ago by a now-closed dry cleaner, chemicals like perchloroethylene (PERC), which turn into vinyl chloride, leached into the water table. Ever since then, these chemicals have been part of a slow-moving plume of water underneath the neighborhood. The testing will help tell us the extent to which residents inside the EPA zone are at risk and whether the plume has moved beyond the zone.
What’s next? UTMB researchers are analyzing the test results and will use them to map out which areas may still be threatened. As soon as the study is done, we will meet with residents to share the results. As the UTMB project leader has explained, “The purpose of whatever we find, whether good or bad, is for them to be able to utilize that in requesting any additional services from the EPA if necessary.”
Hookups to Municipal Water. The EPA is most concerned about residents who are still using private wells and drawing water from the underwater plume. It put out the call this spring to connect those people to municipal water at no cost to the homeowners. The work to connect the homes will take place this summer. However, the majority of people on wells did not sign up.
EPA is rewriting its plan for the site. The EPA has declared that its current remediation plan does not control the threat of human exposure at the site. That means it has a legal obligation to produce a plan that will protect people. THEA is urging the agency to fully remediate the site, which still contains chemical levels that are above what is considered safe.
We had planned to meet with THEA’s Cypress Coalition to discuss the next steps, but we delayed that meeting when we realized the space couldn’t hold all the people who wanted to attend. We are making plans to use a larger space and will share the information as soon as the date and location are set.