EPA kicks off 2nd phase of groundwater investigation near Jones Road

The EPA gained authority to oversee clean-up measures in 2003 after the site was placed on the agency’s National Priorities List, according to Community Impact. Since then, EPA researchers have conducted several rounds of groundwater extraction and treatment, but past attempts at a remedy were found “not protective” after properties within the plume boundary continued to test positive for contaminants.

The latest round of site investigations come after EPA researchers were awarded a $3.2 million grant extension in 2025 to begin a new remedial study, Community Impact previously reported.

What’s new?

The EPA and its contractors are wrapping up their second week of field investigations as part of phase two of the study, EPA Region 6 Press Officer Joe Robledo told Community Impact. He said the latest efforts include a type of geological testing called “cone penetration” that allows the EPA to sample groundwater at various depths.

Robledo said data collected during the fieldwork will inform the next stage of research, including potential installation of monitoring wells, conceptual site modeling and 3D modeling. The EPA will conduct another round of sitewide sampling in late January, he said.

The EPA is trying to get a better sense of how, if at all, the plume has moved since the agency last mapped it in 2010, said Rachel Jordan, former assistant director of the Texas Health and Environmental Alliance, which has a coalition devoted to cleaning up the Jones Road contamination. She said it's possible for contaminants to spread via groundwater and soil vapor.

Jordan had been heavily involved at the Jones Road Superfund site for about four and a half years before she left THEA in mid-December.

“We, with the support of the community, have been pushing the EPA to re-delineate where the plume is because even the EPA would say that they didn’t really know because they hadn’t studied it since 2010,” Jordan said. “Them going back in the Superfund process to redo this remedial investigation and feasibility study is them taking a step back to look at ‘Where is the contamination now and how bad is it?’”

Why it matters

Escobar said he regularly takes advantage of free water testing from the THEA, and the water at his family home on Forrest Valley Drive continues to show low levels of contamination. He said he and his family avoid using it for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth.

“The discrepancy is [the contamination] is just at the amount where it’s considered ‘safe,’ however all the literature says that any exposure at all is unsafe,” Escobar said. “It should always be zero.”

Escobar said his father, mother and great aunt, who also lived on the property, were all diagnosed with cancer within a few years of one another. His family moved into the house in the 1990s, while the dry cleaning business still operated, but didn’t learn they were living on a Superfund site until around 2008, he said.

Escobar said there’s no way of knowing for certain if the cancer diagnoses are linked to the groundwater contamination. However, he said his family’s health scare motivated him to educate others about the link between environment and public health, and in 2021 he started working for the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience in Houston.

The EPA initially identified five contaminants of concern within private wells in the area, which according to its website “pose unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.” According to February 2025 data, one contaminant remains above the national drinking water standards: tetrachloroethylene.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry states tetrachloroethylene exposure can harm the nervous system, liver, kidneys and reproductive system. The contaminant can also increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer, per the ATSDR.

Diving in deeper

To limit exposure, the EPA offered to connect residents within the boundary to a White Oak Bayou Municipal Utility District waterline. Retailers at the Jones Road shopping center were also connected to MUD water.

While the EPA covers the initial connection fee, residents are responsible for paying a monthly water bill through the MUD, according to EPA officials.

Escobar said because his parents’ house is located outside of the MUD’s taxing boundary, the district would charge a higher rate for water, a cost his father wasn’t willing to pay.

John Armon, who lives on Timber Hollow within the plume boundary, said his house was already connected to the MUD waterline when he purchased the property in 2014. He said he and his wife didn’t learn about the contamination until about a year after they moved in, a factor that at the time may have made them reconsider their decision.

Armon told Community Impact the EPA consistently samples his water, sometimes multiple times per year, and he avoids using it for gardening and other outdoor activities. He said he'd be interested in more community education about potential filtration options for those who are unable to connect to a different water source.

Looking forward

Robledo said field activities are subject to change due to the “dynamic nature” of the investigation, but the EPA expects to recommend a potential remedy to the community by September this year.

The EPA requires access agreements to test residential and commercial properties on the Superfund site. Residents who are interested in granting the EPA access to their property for groundwater sampling and other work should contact Project Manager Lauren Guidry-Leach:

• [email protected]
• 214-665-2714

THEA expects to conduct another round of groundwater testing in April followed by a community meeting, Environmental Outreach Coordinator Kristy Smith said. Exact details have not been confirmed as of press time, but past community meetings have been held at Bleyl Middle School, located at 10800 Mills Road, Houston.