Is Your Home at Risk? How to Track Ridgewood Flooding in Real-Time This Spring
file photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — As spring showers return to Bergen County, the risk of localized flooding along the Saddle River and Ho-Ho-Kus Brook is back on the radar. For residents in low-lying areas, staying ahead of rising water levels is the best way to protect your property and family.
Ridgewood’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is urging all neighbors to utilize high-tech monitoring tools to stay informed before the rain starts to fall. Here are the three essential resources every Ridgewood resident needs this season.
1. Sign Up for Village Emergency Alerts (SwiftReach/Reverse 911)
The fastest way to get official word from the Ridgewood Police, Fire Department, and Ridgewood Water is through the Village’s Emergency Notification System.
- How it works: Receive critical “Reverse 911” calls, text messages, and emails regarding road closures, evacuations, or severe weather warnings.
- Action: If you haven’t registered your cell phone or email yet, visit the Village Website to sign up immediately.
2. Get Custom Text Alerts from USGS “WaterAlert”
Want to know the second a local stream hits a dangerous level? The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers a free service called WaterAlert.
- The Benefit: You can select specific stations on the Saddle River or Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and set your own “thresholds.”
- Real-Time Data: Receive a text or email notification the moment the water reaches the height you’ve specified, giving you extra time to move cars or clear basement drains.
3. Track the National Water Prediction Service Map
For those who prefer a visual look at the forecast, the National Water Prediction Service provides a comprehensive interactive map.
- Interactive Features: Zoom into the Ridgewood/Bergen County area to see current river flows and projected crests.
- Visual Safety: This tool helps you see if upstream rain is headed our way, even if it isn’t currently raining in the Village.
Proactive Flood Safety Tips
- Clear your gutters: Ensure spring debris isn’t blocking your home’s drainage.
- Check sump pumps: Test your backup battery systems before the next storm hits.
- Stay off flooded roads: “Turn Around, Don’t Drown”—most flood-related injuries occur in vehicles
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As spring showers return to Bergen County, the risk of localized flooding along the Saddle River and Ho-Ho-Kus Brook flood-plain is back on the radar. If your home is located in the flood-plain, keep your eye on the weather. When it rains heavy, which has been happening for millions of years, the water in the flood-plain rises temporarily, which is why it’s called a flood-plain.
So if there is a forecast for rain, which often happens in the spring, you might want to relocate your automobile out of the flood-plain. You can’t relocate your house because someone built the house in a flood-plain.
In the meantime, local politicians will breathlessly tell you they are working on the “problem” but I always thought the problem was people don’t understand a flood-plain is a flood-plain.
Clean off the top of catch basins. And inside as well.
That helps.
Didn’t the village just purchased a brand new vacuum truck a few years backfor the catch basin system for properly cleaning them out. The truck should be out every day no excuse. And don’t come back and say that the whole system is clean bullshit. It’s gotta be a few thousand catch basins throughout the system, not to mention all the drainage stitches.
dredge baby dredge… problem solved
*AND clear the fallen trees so it doesn’t back up*
You are stoopid…water finds it’s own level !
Keep the streets clean, the top of the couch basin is clean inside the couch basin, and what about all the drainage lines to the brook they need to be cleaned out, when’s the last time that was done? Yes dredging does help that needs to be done too. It’s everything not just one thing.
Maybe get hot dog boy out of the Ford Explorer, and do some work, he should be riding around the pick up truck with a shuffle and cleaning of catch basins, picking up dead animals, working with the crew, nope, riding around in air air-conditioning. And eating, wake up Director.