Water Damage and Mold Removal Bergen County Homes Can Count On

The Hackensack River runs down the middle of the county, tidal in its lower reach. These towns flood from the river and from heavy rain that can't drain fast enough. During Sandy in 2012, an 8.5-foot storm surge overtopped a 5-foot berm in Little Ferry and Moonachie. In April 2022 the river crested at 8.57 feet at New Milford and forced 12 evacuations there. On July 27 and 28, 2026, River Edge recorded 6.06 inches of rain in two days. Flood cleanup Bergen County homeowners need most often starts in these towns. See storm and flood damage.

The Saddle River runs south through Paramus, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook and Lodi, and it rises fast. During Ida, CBS New York reported huge parts of Lodi under several feet of water and water that "bubbled up from floors and walls" in Saddle Brook. In the January 10, 2024 storm, the river crested around 10 feet in Lodi, and a Rochelle Park resident said, "Three times already I lost the basement."

Along the Palisades cliffs facing Manhattan, much of the housing is high-rise condos, co-ops and rentals. Floods are rare up there. Leaks between stacked units are not: a supply line, a toilet or a washer on one floor becomes a ceiling problem on the floors below. See the Fort Lee page.

Much of Bergen County was built out after World War II. Paramus alone grew from about 6,000 to 23,000 people between 1948 and 1958. Those houses often sit on concrete block foundations with finished basements, and their water problems are groundwater, sump pumps and mold, not rivers. See basement waterproofing.