Corozal Well

Overview

Corozal Well is a former Superfund site in Corozal, Puerto Rico. It was added to the National Priorities List in March 2012 after PCE (tetrachloroethylene) and TCE (trichloroethylene) were found in the Santana Well, which served more than 200 residents in Barrio Palos Blancos Ward. The Puerto Rico Department of Health shut the well down in 2010. The EPA then installed a drinking water treatment system in March 2011 to protect the community while the investigation continued.

The EPA traced the contamination to a chemically weathered bedrock zone beneath the site. Both PCE and TCE were found in groundwater across the entire site, which is treated as a single cleanup area called Operable Unit 01. The EPA selected Monitored Natural Attenuation combined with Institutional Controls as the cleanup method. This approach lets natural processes break contaminants down into less harmful forms over time, while controls limit groundwater use in affected areas.

PCE levels in the Santana Well dropped below cleanup goals, and the EPA removed the treatment system in September 2018. From 2019 to 2024, the EPA monitored 13 wells in bedrock and saprolite zones. PCE and TCE concentrations stayed consistently below cleanup goals, with most wells showing decreasing trends. Nearby municipal wells showed no contamination. Human exposure is under control, and contaminated groundwater migration has stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico requires a permit to use water from impacted groundwater at this location.

The EPA announced the final deletion of Corozal Well from the National Priorities List on March 4, 2026. Institutional controls are no longer required because cleanup objectives were achieved and the site allows unrestricted use. No further response actions are anticipated. The most recent five-year review was completed on March 11, 2025.

Community members who want to review site records can visit three information repositories: the EPA Record Center in New York at 290 Broadway, the EPA office in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, or the Escuela Felipa Sanchez Cruzado in Naranjito, Puerto Rico. Community updates were made available in both English and Spanish. For questions, residents can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.