Conservation Authorities

If your property is near a river or stream valley, the Lake Ontario Shoreline or a wetland you may require a permit from your conservation authority for development projects. Development projects can include:

• Excavating and landscaping.
• Building a home or an addition.
• Building a garage, shed, deck or swimming pool.

For more information or to find out if you require a permit, contact your conservation authority. The regulated area can also be viewed on the yourDurham interactive map.

In addition to limiting development in the floodplain, conservation authorities also monitor the weather and issue flood messages. Flood messages give residents advance notice of unsafe conditions or the potential for flooding. Contact your conservation authority to sign up.

To learn more about how you can protect your family, visit our Emergency preparedness page.

In October 2025, the province announced plans to consolidate Ontario's existing 36 conservation authorities into much larger, regional conservation authorities. The final boundaries for nine regional conservation authorities were released in March 2026. The Region is awaiting legislation that will facilitate this consolidation.

Following consolidation, CLOCA will combine with TRCA to become part of the Central Lake Ontario Regional CA, LSRCA will become part of the Lake Huron Regional CA and KRCA and GRCA will become part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Regional CA (shown in the map below).