Park Runoff Continues to Flood Oakland Church Graves

Park Runoff Continues to Flood Oakland Church Graves

The graves of the Oakland Baptist Church continue to be flooded by water running off of Fort Ward Historic Park land and Malboro Estates lands.  Despite considerable efforts on the part of the City of Alexandria and homeowners the temporary plan for stormwater management has not prevented water coming from parkland from entering the cemetery.  According to staff from the City's Department of Transportation & Environmental Services there was "an engineering flaw" in the temporary plan.  City officials, despite receiving funds from the City Council and City Manager to correct this situation, have been unwilling to correct the flaw and divert the runoff into the cemetery.   The current situation was caused by modifications to park lands and the properties of homeowners.  These actions, some of which were done without appropriate city permits have created a drainage swale that channels water from up-slope homes and parklands into the cemetery.  Todays rain and snowfall provided an opportunity to reassess flooding problems and to locate the sources of runoff.  The attached photos show water flows into the cemetery and the flooding of various graves.