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

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority says its jurisdiction covers the entire Niagara Region, and its planning and permitting FAQ names a watershed planner for Welland, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie. It regulates watercourses and their flood plains, hazardous lands, wetlands with the land up to 30 metres around them, river and stream valleys, and shorelines, and its Watershed Explorer map shows the approximate limit of those areas: look up the address there, or ask staff, who also answer formal property requests in writing. The authority says not every regulated area is on its mapping, and that where the map and the description in Ontario Regulation 41/24 differ, the regulation prevails. In its jurisdiction the regulated flood hazard is the greatest flood extent of the 1 in 100-year storm, and it says some of its floodplain maps are more than 30 years old and are being updated.

A permit from the authority is needed before development in a regulated area, such as building, an addition that increases a building's size or its number of units, site grading or placing fill, and it doesn't replace the City's building permit: the authority's policy document lists its permits as applicable law under the Building Code Act, for which it issues a permit or a letter of clearance. A regulated-area result governs permits; it is not a forecast that a home will flood, and the authority says flooding can happen outside the mapped flood hazard, including when rainfall exceeds the capacity of storm sewers. Under the Conservation Authorities Act as amended in 2026, the Niagara Peninsula authority is to join the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation.

• NPCA: planning and permits: the authority's regulated areas under Ontario Regulation 41/24, its Watershed Explorer map and how to ask staff
• NPCA: planning and permitting FAQ: the authority's jurisdiction, the watershed planner for each municipality and property requests (PDF)
• NPCA: floodplain mapping: the regulated flood hazard, the age of the maps and flooding outside the mapped area
• NPCA Policy Document: the authority's planning and permitting policies, with its permits as applicable law under the Building Code Act (PDF)
• Understanding changes to conservation authorities: the authority's page on joining the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority
• 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 Welland 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 Welland address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report