Flooding in Bloomingdale, New Jersey: the record, the river, and what to do
In Bloomingdale the flood story is mostly the Pequannock River, which floods Main Street and the streets around it. Two National Weather Service gauges, one upstream and one just downstream, say exactly which streets go under first.
FEMA records 87 flood insurance claims in Bloomingdale and lists 14 properties as repetitive-loss properties, a high share for a borough of under 8,000 people. The source is chiefly the Pequannock River, which FEMA says floods low-lying parts of the borough, along with Van Dam Brook, Cold Spring Brook, Oakwood Lake Brook and two tributaries of Posts Brook. The National Weather Service publishes stage-by-stage impacts for Main Street, Brandt Lane, Van Dam Avenue and Hamilton Street, which makes this one of the easier towns in the county to prepare for.
The short version
- FEMA records 87 flood insurance claims in Bloomingdale; 2011 alone produced 28 and 2010 produced 15.
- As of August 2026, FEMA lists 14 repetitive-loss properties in the borough.
- The National Weather Service says Main Street businesses nearest the river begin to flood at 8 feet on the Riverdale gauge; Brandt Lane becomes impassable at 10 feet.
- The Riverdale gauge passed 8 feet in 2021, 2023 and 2024; its highest listed crest is 13.6 feet in April 1984.
- FEMA also names Van Dam Brook, Cold Spring Brook, Oakwood Lake Brook and the Oak Street area as flood sources.
Bloomingdale in the flood record
The US Census Bureau puts Bloomingdale at 7,716 residents in 2,992 homes, with a median year built of 1958 and about 28.8 per cent of households renting (American Community Survey, 2020–2024). FEMA flood insurance data list 87 National Flood Insurance Program claims in the borough. Two recent years dominate: 2011 with 28 claims and 2010 with 15, followed by 1984 and 1999 with eight each. By named event, FEMA records 17 claims from Hurricane Irene, 15 from the March 2010 nor'easter, 10 from storms FEMA labels late winter storms and seven from Hurricane Floyd. As of August 2, 2026, FEMA lists 14 Bloomingdale properties as repetitive-loss properties, none of them in the severe category. Fourteen repeat-flood properties among fewer than 3,000 homes is a concentration worth noticing: the same addresses near the river keep flooding.
The Pequannock between two gauges
The Pequannock reaches Bloomingdale after draining hills and reservoirs upstream. The US Geological Survey gauges it at the Macopin intake dam upstream, where the drainage area is 63.7 square miles, and at Riverdale just downstream, where it is 83.9 square miles. The National Weather Service uses both to describe Bloomingdale flooding. At Macopin, minor flood stage is 5.5 feet, when road closures begin in Butler and Bloomingdale. At 6.5 feet both Main Streets, in Butler and in Bloomingdale, flood, along with several commercial properties and the Hamburg Turnpike; flooding spreads to the east side of Bloomingdale and Sloan Park goes under. At 7.5 feet the NWS describes significant flooding on Main Street, Van Dam Street and Brandt Lane in Bloomingdale. FEMA itself uses the Macopin record, then 73 years long, to set flood frequencies on this stretch of river.
Street by street at Riverdale
The Riverdale gauge gives a finer ladder. The National Weather Service sets minor flooding there at 8 feet, moderate at 10 and major at 11. At 8 feet, businesses along Main Street in Bloomingdale closest to the river begin to flood and Brandt Lane begins to take water. At 9 feet more Main Street businesses take on water. At 10 feet Brandt Lane floods in several places and becomes impassable. At 11 feet Main Street, Van Dam Avenue and Hamilton Street in Bloomingdale flood. The highest crests on the NWS list are 13.6 feet on April 5, 1984 and 12.57 feet on August 28, 2011, during Irene. More recent floods reached 8.99 feet on September 2, 2021, during Ida, 9.74 feet on December 18, 2023 and 8.55 feet on January 10, 2024. So the gauge has passed the 8-foot level, where the NWS says riverside Main Street businesses begin to flood, three times since 2021.
The brooks and Oak Street
Not all of Bloomingdale's flooding comes from the river. FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for Passaic County lists Cold Spring Brook, Oakwood Lake Brook, Tributaries 1 and 2 to Posts Brook, Van Dam Brook and the Van Dam Brook tributary as sources of additional flooding, and says low-lying areas above and below Oak Street flood during heavy rainstorms. These are small streams coming off the hills, studied with a regional estimating method because they have no gauge. They respond to a local downpour within hours, independent of what the Pequannock is doing, so a thunderstorm that barely moves the river can still put water in a basement near one of them.
Why Bloomingdale floods
FEMA's summary is short: the Pequannock affects low-lying areas of Bloomingdale, and the NWS impact lists show that the first property to take water is the riverside stretch of Main Street. The record also shows that bad years come in clusters. On the National Weather Service list for Macopin, the river passed its 6.5-foot moderate flood stage in March 2010, March 2011 and again in August 2011 with Irene, three times in eighteen months. FEMA counts 15 Bloomingdale claims in 2010 and 28 in 2011, which is how a small borough built up so much of its record in two years. Upstream dams do not change this much by design: FEMA's study states that dams in Passaic County are not managed as flood protection structures.
What this means if you own or rent here
If you are on or near Main Street, Brandt Lane, Van Dam Avenue, Hamilton Street or Oak Street, learn the two gauge numbers: 6.5 feet at Macopin and 8 feet at Riverdale are when water starts reaching property. The NWS forecast pages show both gauges and, when flooding is expected, a forecast crest. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; there is no verified borough-wide flood-zone figure. Keep valuables, documents and appliances off basement floors near the river. Flood damage needs a separate flood policy, and FEMA states that a new policy normally takes 30 days to take effect. Whether a particular loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording. Renters, nearly three in ten households here, need their own contents cover.
Common questions
Does Bloomingdale, NJ flood?
Yes, mainly along the Pequannock River. FEMA records 87 flood insurance claims and 14 repetitive-loss properties in the borough. The National Weather Service lists flooding on Main Street, Brandt Lane, Van Dam Avenue and Hamilton Street as the river rises.
Which river gauge should I watch in Bloomingdale?
Two. The Pequannock at Macopin upstream, where road closures in Bloomingdale begin at 5.5 feet, and the Pequannock at Riverdale downstream, where Main Street businesses closest to the river begin to flood at 8 feet. Both are on the National Weather Service water prediction site.
Do the upstream reservoirs protect Bloomingdale from floods?
Not by design. FEMA's Flood Insurance Study states that dams in Passaic County can affect flood flows but are not managed as flood protection structures.
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