Spotlight on THEA/UTMB Testing Near Jones Road Superfund Site

Houston Public Media reporter Katie Watkins recently took an in-depth look at the potential threats facing residents near the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site in Cypress. The site is on the EPA’s Superfund list because chemicals dumped by a dry cleaner two decades ago continue to spread through the underground water table.

The primary focus of the report was the testing that is going on in the neighborhoods through a partnership between THEA and the University of Texas Medical Branch. The goal is to determine if the toxic plume is still growing and if the chemicals are entering homes.

As the news report points out, the chief threat is to homes that rely on well water in the area. One in five of the wells that the EPA recently tested had unsafe levels of chemical contamination.

The EPA is quoted in the report saying the overall level of contamination has gone down as a result of ongoing remediation, but it wants to take any additional steps that may be needed to protect residents. The agency says it wants to meet with residents next month to update them on the project.

THEA will share details as they are made available.