Is a North Bay address in a regulated flood area, and whose map says so?

The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority's area of jurisdiction takes in the Lake Nipissing shoreline with the City of North Bay, Trout Lake and the Mattawa River. Its online mapping tool shows the approximate regulated area under Ontario Regulation 41/24; the authority says the mapping is approximate, not all areas are mapped, a feature does not have to be mapped to be regulated, and the regulation's text prevails over the map. A permit may be needed to build or replace a home, to add an addition, driveway, garage, shed, deck or pool, or to fill and regrade, near inland lake shorelines, in river or stream valleys and within 30 metres of wetlands. The authority answers property information requests from solicitors and agents for a fee, in at least five business days, and has completed new floodplain mapping for Chippewa Creek, Parks Creek and Jessup's Creek in the city.

The authority says its permit is in addition to a building permit or other approvals from the municipality. 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 North Bay-Mattawa authority is to join the Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation.

• NBMCA: map your property: the authority's mapping tool and its terms
• NBMCA: Section 28 permits: what the authority regulates and what may need a permit
• NBMCA: reviews and legal inquiries: property information requests for buyers' solicitors and agents
• NBMCA: floodplain mapping: the updated mapping for Chippewa, Parks and Jessup's creeks
• NBMCA: board members: the board until consolidation into the Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027
• 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 North Bay home the authority's own map 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 North Bay address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report