Greenway Cemetery Stewardship
The topography of the 29-acre ‘new’ section of Greenway cemetery is typical of much of Morgan County. Graves are situated on steep hills composed of fragile soil. In the past, stormwater picked up speed as it raced towards Warm Springs Run. The eroded materials collected by runoff were eventually deposited into the Run, raising the streambed and exacerbating flooding downstream.
To reduce the volume and velocity of stormwater runoff, WSWA installed four green stormwater controls (Best Management Practices, i.e., ’BMPs‘) in the cemetery since 2012. These various strategies all slow, capture, filter, and reduce the volume of stormwater before it ends up in the Run.
In 2012, WSWA installed three diverters, made of recycled conveyor belts, into the road. The diverters are set at an angle to direct runoff into French drains and grassy bioswales established in the ditch. The drains and bioswales collect and contain runoff sediment.
Runoff collects in the rain garden WSWA installed at the bottom of the hill in 2015, where the same principles of slowing, capturing, filtering, and reducing stormwater are at work. Much of the runoff evaporates, further reducing the volume of stormwater that makes it to the Run. The perennials planted in the rain garden absorb water below the surface, while providing shelter and food for native pollinators.
Also in 2015, WSWA planted native trees on both sides of Greenway Trail.
In 2018, WSWA installed hugels on a steep slope at the south end of the cemetery. Hugels are mounds constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable plant materials. Once the area had settled, we planted trees and shrubs on these mounds. The principles of green stormwater management also apply: the mounds slow down and absorb stormwater runoff. Plant leaves capture rain and slow its fall to the ground, while some of the rain evaporates.
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