Is a Greater Sudbury address in a regulated flood area, and whose map says so?

Conservation Sudbury, the Nickel District Conservation Authority, works with its member municipality, the City of Greater Sudbury, and regulates development in and along floodplains, steep slopes, wetlands, shorelines and waterways. Its Regulated Areas Mapping Tool shows the regulated areas in the Vermilion, Wanapitei and Whitefish River watersheds within its jurisdiction; it says the regulation's text prevails where the map and the ground differ, and that its jurisdiction may reach beyond the mapped areas. For a property for sale it offers a general inquiry by email, with a map of the regulated features mapped on the lot, or a detailed written inquiry, from $300, which needs the owner's permission.

Floodplain mapping is being renewed: new mapping for the Algonquin Road watershed has been in effect since 14 November 2025, and the authority says the work continues elsewhere in the city where mapping is lacking or out of date. A regulated-area result governs permits for building, grading and adding dwelling units; 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, Conservation Sudbury is to join the Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation.

• Conservation Sudbury: regulated areas mapping tool: the authority's map of regulated areas and its limits
• Conservation Sudbury: property inquiries: general and detailed inquiries about a property
• Algonquin Road floodplain update: the new floodplain mapping in effect since 14 November 2025
• Ontario Regulation 41/24: the regulation behind every conservation authority's regulated area
• 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

Conservation-authority regulated-area and flood plain checks are not currently included in our reports, so for a Greater Sudbury home the authority's own mapping 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 Greater Sudbury address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report