Jones Road Ground Water Plume

Overview

The Jones Road Ground Water Plume is a Superfund site in Harris County, Texas, listed on the National Priorities List in September 2003. It traces back to dry cleaning operations at the former Bell Dry Cleaners in the Cypress Shopping Center on Jones Road. The facility ran from 1988 until May 2002 and left behind soil and groundwater contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), cis- and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE), and vinyl chloride (VC). These contaminants pose health risks through ingestion, skin contact, and inhalation of vapors.

The EPA has taken several cleanup steps over the years. Between January and November 2008, a public water line was installed to supply 144 homes and businesses with safe drinking water. A Record of Decision in September 2010 selected a combination of pump and treat and in-situ bioremediation. Bioremediation in the shallow groundwater zone started in January 2016. In May 2018, indoor exhaust systems were installed in three shopping center suites to address vapor intrusion, and post-installation sampling confirmed contaminant levels dropped below regional screening levels. A soil vapor extraction system completed in September 2018 began running in July 2019 and continues to operate. A Record of Decision Amendment in September 2017 added off-gas treatment and soil vapor extraction to the remedy. The most recent remedial action phase was completed in September 2024, and a removal action was performed from November to December 2024.

Despite this progress, construction is not yet complete site-wide. Human exposure is not under control, and groundwater migration has not been stabilized. Institutional controls, including a restricted water well drilling area established by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and a well installation prohibition by Harris County, limit exposure risks. The EPA is helping property owners connect to the public water supply and is paying for well abandonment. Future remedial work targeting the deep Chicot aquifer will begin after supplemental investigations finish.

In February 2025, the EPA awarded a $3.2 million contract for a supplemental Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. The study will map contamination and assess whether the existing pump and treat remedy remains the right approach. Phase 1 covered site reconnaissance, geologic modeling, and soil gas sampling. Phase 2 is currently underway and involves well evaluation, high-resolution site characterization, and groundwater and vapor sampling. The full study is expected to wrap up by September 2026. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is funding source-area treatment, public water supply connections, and groundwater restoration.

Community members can attend EPA update meetings held to share site progress. Property owners with private wells in the waterline service area can contact the EPA to ask about connecting to the public supply. Two public document repositories serve the community: the Northwest Branch Harris County Library in Cypress and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality central file room in Austin.