Flooding

FLOODING IN PASSAIC RIVER BASIN

Congressman Frelinghuysen has long been concerned with flooding in our area and the 983 square miles that make up the Passaic River Basin. 

During his time in Congress, Congressman Frelinghuysen has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), many mayors, state legislators and other Members of Congress to address flooding along the Passaic River basin.  As you may not know, over 3500 acres in our area have been protected as part of a Corps’ project he has long supported, the Preservation of Natural Storage Areas.

As you may know, the State of New Jersey Executive Order 23 required the Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission to provide a comprehensive plan to address flooding in the Passaic basin. And, thankfully, our Governor has been working on expediting state support, as some of the fifteen recommendations are within his jurisdiction.Progress on these recommendations can be viewed at NJDEP’s Passaic River website. 

Rodney has been working with the Army Corps to get the reevaluation of the Passaic River Main Stem project to be a Presidential priority in President Obama’s budget submissions to Congress.  In fact, he met with Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Jo-Ellen Darcy, multiple times in Washington to discuss their critical involvement and the need for Federal resources.  As a result of Rodney’s effort, the President included $1 million in his Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal and $240,000 in his Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal for this critical project.  Most recently, the President's FY16 budget proposal included $982,000.

The Army Corps, partnering with NJDEP, is moving forward with carrying out the Passaic River Basin General Re-evaluation Study to determine the best flood risk management alternative to help communities throughout the Passaic River Basin.  To read more about the study, visit the Army Corps website on this project. 

To view the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers briefing with the Passaic River Basin Flood Advisory Commission click here.

Flood inundation maps, covering portions of many District 11 municipalities, are available.  

For information regarding the Community Rating System, please click here.  

For more information about reducing risk from floods visit the official site of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) at or call 1-888-379-9531.