Federal and local officials will host a public meeting Thursday to update residents on ongoing cleanup efforts at the Tutu Wellfield Superfund Site, a long-standing groundwater contamination area in Anna’s Retreat and Estate Tutu.
The session will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources office at Tutu Park Mall. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Northeast and Caribbean Region will be available to provide updates and speak directly with residents.
The meeting comes as construction work continues on an upgraded groundwater treatment system designed to reduce contamination in the Turpentine Run aquifer.
The Tutu Wellfield site has been under federal oversight for decades after contamination was discovered in both public and private wells. The pollution, linked to past industrial activity including dry-cleaning operations, affected groundwater across roughly 108 acres in the Anna’s Retreat area.
Michael Grossman, project manager for the site, said the issue was first identified in 1987 when a resident reported unusual odors in a private well.
“Testing revealed industrial solvents commonly used in dry cleaning, as well as petroleum contamination in multiple public and private wells,” Grossman said.
To protect residents, officials closed 18 contaminated wells and began providing safe drinking water while long-term monitoring efforts were put in place.
“Investigations traced much of the contamination to past industrial activity at the Curriculum Center property, where dry-cleaning operations used a solvent called PCE,” he said. “That contamination seeped into the groundwater and continues to move slowly underground, which is why long-term cleanup is necessary.”
He added that the site was added to the federal Superfund program in 1995, and cleanup efforts have continued since. Grossman said the original groundwater treatment system, installed in 2004, has been effective in containing the spread of contamination but has not reduced pollution levels as quickly as expected.
“Monitoring over time showed that pollution levels were not declining as quickly as anticipated, indicating that a significant source of the groundwater contamination remained,” he said.
To address that, the EPA finalized an updated cleanup plan in 2021 focused on the Curriculum Center area, identified as the main source of contamination.
“This next phase is designed to more aggressively remove contamination, prevent it from spreading, and move the site toward achieving federal drinking water standards,” Grossman said.
The agency is now expanding and upgrading the existing treatment system, including the addition of new extraction and monitoring wells to increase capacity.
“Construction began in November 2025 and is expected to be completed by early 2027,” he said.
Despite the upgrades, Grossman said groundwater cleanup will take time.
“While the upgraded system is expected to accelerate progress, it will likely take decades to fully restore the aquifer,” he said. “Groundwater use in the affected area remains prohibited to prevent exposure to contamination.”
Grossman said construction work is actively underway, “EPA has notified residents and local officials and will continue sharing updates as work progresses. Construction is actively underway, including installation of new wells and upgrades to the existing treatment system. “
Grossman said the April 16 session is intended to give residents a chance to hear directly from officials and ask questions about the ongoing cleanup.
“EPA, in coordination with the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, is hosting a public session to give residents an opportunity to speak directly with project staff and get updates on the status of the cleanup,” he said.
