Is a Chatham-Kent address in a regulated flood area, and whose map says so?

Both authorities name Chatham-Kent among their member municipalities. The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority covers the streams draining into the Thames River from Delaware to Lake St. Clair and into Lake Erie from the Talbot Creek to the Two Creeks watersheds; its Regulated Areas Screening Map flags whether a property or part of it is regulated, it notes that a property can cross the boundary of two or more authorities, in which case both are to be asked, and it takes questions from prospective purchasers about a specific property. The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority covers the Sydenham River watershed and smaller watersheds draining into the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair; its online mapping tool shades regulated areas red, it says not every regulated area may be mapped and that the regulation applies whether an area is mapped or not, and it offers a formal property inquiry, for a fee, for a property for sale.

Each authority's permission is needed for development in its regulated area, and the St. Clair Region authority notes that the municipality may require other approvals. The zoning by-law's flood proofing and flood fringe maps, which cover areas in Chatham, Dresden, Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Wheatley and other areas, leave the height of habitable rooms and their openings to the relevant authority. A regulated-area result governs permits; it is not a forecast that a home will flood, and a home outside the mapped area can still take water through a basement. Under the Conservation Authorities Act as amended in 2026, the Lower Thames Valley authority and the St. Clair Region authority are to join the Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation.

• About the LTVCA: the Lower Thames Valley authority's area and member municipalities
• LTVCA regulations: what the authority regulates, the screening map and property inquiries
• SCRCA governance: the St. Clair Region authority's seventeen participating municipalities
• SCRCA Map Your Property: how to look up a property on the authority's mapping tool
• SCRCA property inquiry: a written answer and mapping for a specific property
• Comprehensive Zoning By-law: the Municipality's flood proofing and flood fringe maps
• Bill 97, Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2026: Schedule 3 amends the Conservation Authorities Act; the transition date is 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation
• Regional conservation authority boundaries (ERO 025-1257): the Province's decision of 10 March 2026 on which authority joins which of the nine regional authorities
• Ontario Regulation 41/24: Prohibited Activities, Exemptions and Permits, the regulation behind every conservation authority's regulated area

Conservation-authority regulated-area and flood plain checks are not currently included in our reports, so for a Chatham-Kent home each authority's own map tool is the place to look. The full report's water and flooding group does cover past floods seen by satellite, nearby creeks, rivers and ponds, and mapped wetlands for any Chatham-Kent address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report