Flooding in Norwood, New Jersey: the brooks, the flood zone, and the record
Norwood has no river of its own, but four small streams, two of which FEMA says swap floodwater, and a reservoir whose level sets the flood height on one of them. The insurance record is modest. Here is how the pieces fit.
The Bergen County Hazard Mitigation Plan puts 20.79 per cent of Norwood in FEMA's 1 per cent annual chance flood zone, or 22.22 per cent including the 0.2 per cent zone. FEMA records 24 flood insurance claims in the borough and three repetitive-loss properties. FEMA's flood study names Dwars Kill, Norwood Brook, Tappan Run and Sparkill Brook in Norwood, and describes how the Oradell Reservoir backs water up into the borough's brooks. Norwood's housing is among the newest in Bergen County.
The short version
- The Bergen County Hazard Mitigation Plan puts 20.79 per cent of Norwood in the FEMA 1 per cent flood zone (22.22 per cent with the 0.2 per cent zone).
- FEMA's flood study names Dwars Kill, Norwood Brook, Tappan Run and Sparkill Brook in Norwood.
- FEMA says floodwater transfers from Dwars Kill to Norwood Brook, with a mapped shallow-flooding area 2 feet deep between them.
- Oradell Reservoir backwater sets the flood level on Norwood Brook, according to FEMA.
- FEMA records 24 NFIP claims and three repetitive-loss properties in Norwood.
A fifth of the borough, mapped
Table 4.6-1 of the county plan gives Norwood 1,791.88 acres, of which 372.56 acres lie in the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area. That is 20.79 per cent, placing Norwood in the upper third of Bergen's 70 municipalities and close to neighbours such as Harrington Park, Rockleigh and Haworth, all of which sit between about 21 and 24 per cent. Unlike Old Tappan or Emerson, Norwood has almost no open water, so the zone is land. Including the 0.2 per cent annual chance zone, the figure rises only to 22.22 per cent, which means the mapped boundary is fairly sharp: most land is either clearly inside or clearly outside.
Four brooks and a shared floodplain
FEMA's countywide Flood Insurance Study for Bergen County names Dwars Kill, Norwood Brook, Tappan Run and Sparkill Brook as streams studied in Norwood. The most distinctive finding concerns the first two. FEMA explains that during floods, water transfers from the Dwars Kill watershed into the Norwood Brook watershed, so the engineers had to balance the flow between the two streams when setting flood heights. Between them FEMA maps an area of shallow flooding with a depth of 2 feet. Sparkill Brook, which FEMA also studies in Rockleigh, joins Sparkill Creek just over the New York line. Norwood's first flood study was published in October 1982, with the engineering finished in January 1980.
When the reservoir sets the flood level
Dwars Kill and Norwood Brook both drain south towards the Oradell Reservoir, the drinking-water store on the Hackensack River. FEMA took the starting flood levels for both streams from backwater elevations at the reservoir, and found that on Norwood Brook the reservoir's backwater submerges all the flood levels the brook would produce on its own. In plain terms, along the lower part of Norwood Brook it is the reservoir level, not the brook, that decides how high the water gets. FEMA lists Norwood among the municipalities that border the reservoir and gives its 1 per cent annual chance level as 25.7 feet. FEMA also notes that the reservoir is run for water supply, not flood control.
A small claim record
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program data list 24 claims in Norwood over the life of the programme. The busiest year was 2021, with six, four of them attributed to Hurricane Ida. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and Hurricane Irene in 2011 account for three each, and the April 2007 nor'easter for one. FEMA's multiple-loss records, as of 2 August 2026, list three repetitive-loss properties, one of them severe. The county plan counts 23 active flood policies in October 2024 for 2,001 homes. The US Census Bureau puts the median year built at 1986, level with Old Tappan as the newest in the Northern Valley, and about 21 per cent of households rent. A housing stock that is mostly post-1980, built after the first flood study, may be one reason the claim count is low relative to the mapped zone.
What the borough has done
In the 2026 county plan, Norwood reports that since 2021 it has elevated homes to meet updated FEMA standards, improved drainage systems and added backup power at essential facilities. For the next five years it lists updated flood mapping and raising further structures among its aims. Elevation programmes of this kind are generally voluntary and grant-funded. Owners of a house that has flooded more than once can ask the borough whether they might qualify.
What this means if you own or rent here
Check the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, paying attention to the shallow-flooding area between Dwars Kill and Norwood Brook and the lower reaches near the reservoir. Shallow flooding of a foot or two is the kind that reaches basements and ground floors without looking dramatic from the street. If you are inside the zone, flood insurance is a separate policy, and a new one normally takes 30 days to start. If you are outside it, the more likely problems are a sump that cannot keep up in a long rain, or a drain that backs up. Test the pump, consider battery backup, and keep valuables off basement floors. Renters should buy their own contents cover. Whether a loss is covered is decided by your insurer.
Common questions
Does Norwood, NJ flood?
Some parts do, but the insurance record is small: FEMA counts 24 claims over the life of the programme, the most in 2021 with Hurricane Ida. About a fifth of the borough is mapped in the FEMA 1 per cent flood zone along its brooks.
What is the shallow flooding area in Norwood?
FEMA's flood study describes floodwater passing from the Dwars Kill watershed into the Norwood Brook watershed and maps an area of shallow flooding between the two streams with a depth of 2 feet. Check whether your address falls in it on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Does the Oradell Reservoir affect Norwood?
Yes, along the lower brooks. FEMA found that the reservoir's backwater controls flood levels on Norwood Brook, and lists Norwood among the towns bordering the reservoir.
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