In response to concerns about drought and deforestation in the late 1920's and 1930's, the Province of Ontario passed The Conservation Authorities Act in 1946. This legislation embodies three fundamental principles:

•  local initiative of the municipalities to become involved in resource management projects;

•  cost-sharing between the Province and the member municipalities;

•  the use of watershed units as the logical basis on which to develop rational and integrated resource management programs.

•  there are presently 36 Conservation Authorities in the Province covering virtually all of Southern Ontario and the more heavily populated sections of Northern Ontario.

•  the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) was established on April 30, 1959 under The Conservation Authorities Act. The Authority is a Registered Charitable Organization.

•  the watershed area of jurisdiction of the NPCA is 2,424 sq. km., covering the whole of the Region of Niagara and 21% of the City of Hamilton and 24% of Haldimand County.

•  the watershed is drained primarily by the Welland River, Twelve Mile Creek, Twenty Mile Creek and Forty Mile Creek with a number of smaller watercourses draining into Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

•  the NPCA's jurisdiction also encompasses 117 km. of Great Lakes shoreline, with 67 km. on Lake Erie and 50 km. on Lake Ontario.

•  the total population within the NPCA's area of jurisdiction is estimated at 500,000.


Mandate

The legislative mandate of the Conservation Authority, as set out in Section 20 of The Conservation Authorities Act, is to establish and undertake programs designed to further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources. The NPCA fulfills this mandate by advocating and implementing programs that:

- Improve the quality of lands and waters within its jurisdiction;

- Contribute to public safety from flooding and erosion;

- Provide for the acquisition of conservation and hazard lands;

- Enhance the quality of life in its watershed by using its lands for regional recreation, heritage preservation and conservation education.

The activities of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority are governed by a Board of Directors comprised of 15 members appointed by the member municipalities as follows:

12 members appointed by the Region of Niagara
2 members appointed by the City of Hamilton
1 member appointed by Haldimand County


Programs

Water Management

•  floodplain and hazard land management through Regulations to control development in flood and erosion hazard areas;

•  flood forecasting and warning;

•  surface and groundwater monitoring;

•  watershed planning;

•  watershed restoration;

•  operation of several dams for low flow augmentation and flood control;

•  plan input and review on severances, subdivisions, official plans and zoning by-laws;

•  The Authority has entered into agreements to provide additional planning services with the Region of Niagara, the City of Hamilton and Haldimand County;

•  the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority also coordinates the implementation of the Niagara River Remedial Action Plan through a partnership agreement with the Ministry of the Environment and Environment Canada;

Land Management

The Conservation Authority manages/owns 36 conservation areas encompassing approximately 7,000 acres of environmentally significant and natural land including Niagara escarpment, provincially significant wetlands and woodlots throughout the watershed for regional recreation, heritage preservation and conservation education opportunities.