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

The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority administers Ontario Regulation 41/24 in its area of jurisdiction, and its screening maps of the approximate regulated area include the City of Thunder Bay. Its online mapping tool shows whether a property has regulated area on it; the authority says not all regulated areas have been identified in the map. The regulated area takes in floodplains, unstable slopes, soils and bedrock, Lake Superior and inland lake shorelines, wetlands, and land within 30 metres of a wetland or 15 metres of other features. Staff discuss a specific proposal with a prospective purchaser only with the owner's signed consent; the approximate regulated area itself is public information. The authority built the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway, finished in 1984, to address flooding in the lower Neebing River and the Intercity area.

A permit from the authority is needed for development in a regulated area, such as a new building, an addition, a change that adds dwelling units, or site grading, and it is in addition to the City's building permit. 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 Lakehead Region Conservation Authority is to become the Northwestern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation; the Province's decision keeps its boundaries as they are.

• LRCA: map your property: the authority's mapping tool and property inquiry form
• LRCA: regulations: what the regulated area takes in, what needs a permit, and inquiries by prospective purchasers
• LRCA: screening maps: the approximate regulated area, by geographic township
• Neebing-McIntyre Floodway: the authority's floodway through the Intercity 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
• 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 Thunder 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 Thunder Bay address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report