Tarentum woman says her family's graves, and others, flooded for a decade at Mt. Airy Cemetery

Sola Samuels’ mother passed away in 2014, and, in nearly all that time, she’s not been able to find solace while visiting the gravesite.

Buried at Mt. Airy in Harrison, Samuels’ mother is in a section plagued by flooding for about 10 years.

“It’s a soupy mess,” said Samuels, of Tarentum. “It’s hurtful to me and to other families. These are our loved ones.”

In recent years, the headstones have been removed from the plots and scattered on dry land to prevent damage. Small, temporary tags mark the actual gravesites in a bare, muddy section of the cemetery.

“They keep apologizing, but our people are swimming in water,” Samuels said.

Cemetery officials acknowledged the water issues, citing topography and soil conditions.

“We’ve had flooding issues in the area for some time,” said Michele Stone of Everstory Partners, the parent company of Mt. Airy.

“We know it’s important and impactful for people.”

The affected area is about 100 square feet with 40 graves. It sits at the foot of a slight slope.

In 2019, cemetery officials paid to install a French drain. It improved the situation but didn’t eliminate the standing water left after significant weather events, Stone said.

She did not provide a dollar amount the cemetery has spent on mitigation.

Last fall, adjustments were made to the French drain, and the area was regraded, she said. More recently, the area was graded again, top soiled and redressed.

“We should see whether these recent adjustments improve drainage after any storm events in the near term,” Stone said.

Mt. Airy is more than a century old, established in 1917. The grounds comprise 84 acres of rolling hills and woods off of Freeport Road.

The flooded section sits near the back of the property and is bordered by a line of large pine trees and a fence.

“My mother, brother, grandmother — everybody — is up there,” Samuels said. “We go to visit and sink into the ground. There are markers laying in disarray — it’s a disastrous look.”

The area is roped off to keep visitors out of the area.

Stone did not provide a timeline for when the markers might be returned or say whether the graves potentially have to be moved.

Officials will continue to explore ways to remedy the problem, she said.

“It is absolutely on our radar,” she said. “Of course it’s horrible to see their loved one’s space underwater.”

The company’s divisional manager of parks will be on site this week to assess the impact of the recent adjustments and determine whether additional work is needed.

Stone said she will continue to keep families up to date with efforts.

Samuels isn’t satisfied with the delays.

“This has been going on for years. It’s just a big circular pit filled with dirt and it’s still soaking wet,” she said.

“They have promised us the world, but no definitive action is being taken. They just keep saying nothing is working. Why can’t this get done?”