Circle Court Ground Water Plume

Overview

Trichloroethene (TCE) contamination was first detected in 2006 in a public water supply well tapping the Paluxy aquifer beneath Willow Park and Hudson Oaks, Texas. The plume stretches at least a half-mile along Russell Road south of Interstate 20, with the highest concentrations near Circle Drive and Russell Road. A drum labeled as containing TCE was found near the private well with the highest contamination levels. The site was added to the EPA's National Priorities List in September 2012, marking it as a priority for federal cleanup action.

The contaminant of concern is TCE, found in both soil and groundwater in Operable Unit 01. The EPA determined TCE poses an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Short-term exposure pathways that could cause unacceptable risks are currently being controlled. All residences with private wells that exceeded the federal drinking water standard for TCE have been connected to the public water supply or have installed filtration systems. Willow Park also installed granular activated carbon filters on the affected public well. Human exposure is considered under control at this time, but contaminated groundwater migration has not yet been stabilized.

The EPA selected a cleanup remedy on September 6, 2022. It calls for two technologies for the groundwater operable unit: soil vapor extraction (SVE) conducted in place, and residuals treatment and disposal at an offsite location. The remedial design ran from March 2023 through August 2024, and engineering work on horizontal SVE wells was completed in September 2024. Remedial action for the groundwater unit started on September 11, 2025, with an estimated completion date between December 2027 and February 2028. The broader Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study remains ongoing, and physical construction of the cleanup is not yet complete.

Community members can review the Administrative Record at the East Parker County Library in Aledo, the Weatherford Public Library, or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Records Management Center in Austin. Several EPA and TCEQ contacts are available to answer questions directly.