Flooding in Paramus, New Jersey: the flood zone, the record, and what to do
Paramus is better known for Route 4 and Route 17 than for rivers, but the Saddle River and two of its tributaries run through the borough, and Irene showed what they can do. Here is the record.
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan maps 11.64 per cent of Paramus, about 782 acres, in the FEMA 1 per cent annual chance flood zone, and 16.22 per cent including the 0.2 per cent zone. FEMA counts 190 National Flood Insurance Program claims for the borough and 14 repetitive-loss properties. Hurricane Floyd, Irene and Ida produced most of them. The water comes from the Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and Sprout Brook, which the borough has spent decades channelling.
The short version
- The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan maps about 782 acres of Paramus, 11.64 per cent, in the 1 per cent annual chance flood zone.
- FEMA records 190 NFIP claims in the borough and 14 repetitive-loss properties; Floyd, Irene and Ida account for most claims.
- Ho-Ho-Kus Brook joins the Saddle River in Paramus, and Sprout Brook rises there before joining the river in Rochelle Park.
- FEMA’s flood study records channelisation of the Saddle River from the late 1960s and of Sprout Brook from 1974.
- During Irene, Paramus Road was impassable and Dunkerhook Road was cut off when the river flooded its bridge.
The largest flood-zone acreage in this part of the valley
Paramus is a big borough, about 6,721 acres of land, and the Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan (Table 4.6-1) puts about 782 of them in the Special Flood Hazard Area. In percentage terms that is a moderate 11.64 per cent, but in acres it is more than Rochelle Park and Saddle Brook hold in the zone combined. Counting the 0.2 per cent annual chance zone, the share rises to 16.22 per cent. The US Census Bureau counts 26,568 residents and 8,813 housing units, with a median year built of 1963. Acreage is not the same as exposure: what matters is how many buildings stand on that low ground, and the claim record below is the better guide to that.
Three watercourses meet in the borough
The Saddle River enters Paramus from Ridgewood and runs south along the western side of the borough toward Rochelle Park. Ho-Ho-Kus Brook joins it in Paramus: the USGS has a monitoring site at the brook’s mouth in the borough, and below the confluence the river drains about 43 square miles. Sprout Brook crosses the borough, past Century Road, and meets the Saddle River just over the line in Rochelle Park. By the time the river reaches Route 4, FEMA’s flood study puts its drainage area at 46.8 square miles. All three respond to the same storms, and a tributary cannot drain freely while the river it feeds is running high.
Decades of channel work
FEMA’s countywide Flood Insurance Study describes Paramus as having undertaken extensive channel improvements along the Saddle River and Sprout Brook. Dredging and straightening of the Saddle River began in the late 1960s, and major portions of the stream in the borough are now channelised; a similar programme for Sprout Brook began in 1974. Hydraulic structures were enlarged to pass flood flows, and the county replaced two vehicular bridges, at East Ridgewood Avenue and Grove Street, that had too little capacity. The county plan also lists the Saddle River Diversion Dam, owned by the water utility, in a county park in Paramus. None of this removes the mapped flood zone; FEMA’s maps take the existing channel into account.
What the FEMA claim record shows
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program data, grouped by community, show 190 lifetime claims for the Borough of Paramus. The heaviest years were 2011 with 48, 1999 with 46, 2021 with 35 and 2007 with 16. By named event, FEMA attributes 45 claims to Hurricane Floyd, 44 to Hurricane Irene, 30 to Hurricane Ida and 15 to the April 2007 nor’easter. FEMA’s Multiple Loss Properties data, as of 2 August 2026, list 14 repetitive-loss properties in the borough, one of them severe. The county plan counts 136 active NFIP policies as of October 2024. Ida was a rainfall event, and the county plan notes it caused widespread basement flooding across Bergen County, so not every Paramus claim is from a house beside the river.
Irene in Paramus
Local reporting on Hurricane Irene, in August 2011, gives the clearest picture of where the water went. Patch reported extensive damage to homes along the Saddle River, Paramus Road impassable at many points, large parts of the Garden State Plaza’s grounds under water and Route 17 closed at Ridgewood and Linwood avenues. Residents of Dunkerhook Road and Skylark Court were cut off when the river flooded the only bridge into the neighbourhood, and the borough planned evacuations along the river. The mayor called the water damage as bad as the borough had seen. Upstream, the Weather Service’s Saddle River gauge at Ridgewood recorded its highest crest, 11.42 feet, that day. The Weather Service also lists a Saddle River gauge at Paramus with a 6-foot flood stage, though it publishes no impact list for it.
What this means if you own or rent here
Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; in a borough this size, most homes are well away from the zone, but those near the river, Ho-Ho-Kus Brook or Sprout Brook may not be. If you are close to the water, follow the Ridgewood and Lodi gauge forecasts for the Saddle River, which give the best warning of a river flood building. Away from the river, the likelier risk is a downpour like Ida pushing water into a basement through window wells, walls or floor drains. A standard homeowners policy excludes flood; a separate flood policy covers it, and FEMA states that a new NFIP policy normally takes 30 days to start. Sewer backup is usually an endorsement on a homeowners policy. About 17 per cent of homes are rented, per the US Census Bureau, and tenants need their own contents cover. Whether a particular loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording.
Common questions
Does Paramus, NJ flood?
Some parts do. FEMA counts 190 flood insurance claims in the borough, and the county plan maps about 11.6 per cent of its land in the high-risk zone, along the Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and Sprout Brook. Most of Paramus sits on higher ground.
Which parts of Paramus flooded in Irene?
Local reporting at the time described damage to homes along the Saddle River, Paramus Road impassable at many points, flooding at the Garden State Plaza and on Route 17, and Dunkerhook Road and Skylark Court cut off. For your own address, use the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Which river gauge should Paramus residents watch?
The Saddle River at Ridgewood, just upstream, and at Lodi, downstream, both have National Weather Service forecasts and flood stages. The Weather Service also lists a gauge at Paramus with a 6-foot flood stage.
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