Milwaukee County Grounds

2025 Flood Case Study

In August 2025, severe flash flooding impacted southeastern Wisconsin, including Cemetery 3 on the County Grounds. The event exposed long-hidden gravestones, disturbed the ground, and highlighted the cemetery’s vulnerability to extreme weather. In response, we met with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. After our meeting, I created maps to help explain the flooding and the related flood-management system, telling a more powerful and informative story than could be told with only text and photographs.

Location of the MMSD facility on the Menomonee River — MMSD facility on the Menomonee River, showing key points of interest. (Basemap from OpenStreetMap)

Floodwater flow in the cemetery — Floodwater flow highlighting areas where water entered and exited the cemetery. (Basemap from OpenStreetMap)

Map of detention ponds and related culverts. — Major water-flow management facilities not involved in the overflow, providing context. (Basemap from OpenStreetMap)

These maps serve as a case study not only of the flood’s effects but also of how storytelling through visual data can convey complex historical and environmental narratives. By layering geography, infrastructure, and site history, the Descendant Community makes preservation challenges and their solutions tangible to volunteers, stakeholders, and the wider public.