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

The Essex Region Conservation Authority has jurisdiction in nine municipalities, the City of Windsor among them. Its online mapping tool shows by default whether a property is within its Limit of Regulated Area; the authority says the map is for visual reference only, that not every regulated area may be mapped, and that the regulation applies whether an area is mapped or not, so staff can confirm a property's status in writing. It lists a new home, a replacement home, additions and renovations, garages and sheds, and decks, docks and pools among the common residential projects that need its permit.

The City ties its own rules to the same record: its additional unit page links a map of areas regulated by the authority and says units are not permitted in basements in floodplain areas. A regulated-area result governs permits for building and grading; 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 Essex Region authority is to join the Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority on 1 February 2027 or a later date set by regulation.

• ERCA development services: permits, the Limit of Regulated Area and how to ask staff
• ERCA online mapping tool: the authority's map viewer; choose Public, then Launch Map Viewer
• Areas regulated by ERCA in Windsor: the City's map of the authority's regulated area (PDF)
• 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 Windsor home the 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 Windsor address.

What we cover, city by city See the sample report