Signs indicated water work is under way Wednesday at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, but there was no reason given for why big patches of dead and dying grass are scattered throughout the local cemetery.
“Waterworks Renovation Project” read the signs posted atop several hills at the park, asking people not to enter safety zones. “We have begun an extensive project to renovate Eternal Valley’s irrigation system throughout the park,” the sign read, adding that the work involves “modernizing and replacing much of the subsurface hardware.”
However, several residents with loved ones buried there have said it’s the responsibility of the park to keep up care of the grounds while they’re completing any projects.
Neither corporate ownership nor local management from Eternal Valley responded to requests for comment this week regarding recently renewed concerns about the cemetery’s grounds.
A Santa Clarita resident confirmed Tuesday he’d filed a complaint with the city of Santa Clarita over the condition of the park, which is where he had his mom’s ashes buried last year.
The city, which confirmed a previous case had been filed against the memorial park last year due to similar concerns, was not able to confirm the status of the previous case this week.
Tim Lynskey, a retired police officer, said when he’d visited the park about six weeks ago, he spoke to a manager who indicated that officials were aware of the situation and had a fix that was about six months out.
What he didn’t hear, he said, was how the grounds were going to be taken care of in the meantime.
It’s not the first time that people have been concerned about the care for the grounds where their loved ones are buried.
In March 2025, a group of residents had become so frustrated with the patches of brown grass throughout Eternal Valley, they gathered at the park’s office.
The problem was still an issue by the end of September, but by mid-November, residents began to notice improvements.
A spokesman for the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency confirmed after the initial complaints last year that a project to improve water delivery to the grounds was underway. But in an email this week, officials indicated there may still be gaps, and they couldn’t confirm whether they were being addressed by Eternal Valley.
“A 3-inch meter was recently installed at the Eternal Valley frontage along Sierra Highway. I believe that they may be working to install infrastructure on their private side, but we cannot confirm that,” wrote Kevin Strauss, spokesman for SCV Water, in an email to The Signal. “The new meter is intended to provide supplementary water to the property. It is very possible that the meter may not adequately provide full irrigation coverage to the entire park. In such (a) case, the owners would need to work with SCV Water on a long-term infrastructure planning document to determine what infrastructure will be needed for current and future water needs.”
Some of those efforts appear to have been negated by consecutive weeks of triple-digit heat, based on photos of the grounds sent to The Signal.
In addition to Lynskey’s complaint, Chan Reader, who was part of the group concerned last year, once again shared photos of the final resting place for his son, Sean C. Reader.
The area surrounding his son’s gravestone was covered in brown grass when he was out there this week.
He noticed patches of green grass were in the park, as well as a number of hand-watering efforts, which the landscaping crew mentioned to him, he said in a phone call Tuesday.
“The one guy told me, ‘Well, you know, we have some people who bring hoses out and do watering,’ and I said, ‘Well, you have to do that,’” he said, recalling the conversation. “You have a contractual obligation to do that. I paid you for that service, and you’re not doing it now. You’re telling me I should bring a hose out there and do it myself?”
After expressing his frustration to management at the park, he said he received a call from the park’s sales manager, who was apologetic, but indicated the park was having repeated equipment issues, and asked for patience.
Reader said his one of his biggest challenges is that he was not getting a straight answer from anyone there.
During the previous issues last year, management from the park issued a statement regarding what was going on, which Reader felt was the least they could do.
“If everything is above board, why don’t you lay it out on a piece of paper so that everybody comes in and says, ‘What’s going on with the water?’ You can hand a piece of paper and say, ‘Well, really sorry. Here’s what’s going on,’” he said.
