Cottage Surveys

Different survey methods and equipment may be used as part of a survey with a water boundary.

• Real Time Network Global Navigation Survey System Equipment (RTN GNSS)
• Total Station
• Water depth measuring pole
• Echosounder mounted on a boat

Depending on how remote your property is, we may ask to use small boat craft available near your property (canoes, rowboats etc.).

Like all surveys, a variety of factors will influence how long a survey that includes a water boundary may take.

• Whether the property has ever been surveyed previously
• If the waterbody fluctuates quite a lot with the seasons (survey work may be seasonally constrained)
• The character of the shoreline (natural, built-up with fill, steep slope, erosion controls placed along the shore, length of shoreline)
• Whether the waterbody is artificially regulated by a dam
• How clear the boundaries are of vegetation/structures
• Topography of the property

Like all surveys, a variety of factors will influence how much a survey will cost.

• Whether the property has ever been surveyed previously
• The character of the shoreline (natural, built-up with fill, steep slope, erosion controls placed along the shore, length of shoreline)
• Whether the waterbody is artificially regulated by a dam
• Access to the property
• Size of the property
• How tight the timeline for delivery is

Depending on the history of the property, your property may or may not extend to the water’s edge.

Crown Patents sometimes contained reservations reserving a strip of land between the water’s edge and a point inland – sometimes 20.12 metres (66’, 1 chain) wide, sometimes more. An application can typically be made to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to purchase the portion of Shore Reserve between your property limit and the water’s edge. A Crown Lands Reference Plan would be required to describe the portion of land to be purchased.

Some Original Township Surveys established Shore Road Allowances along rivers or lakes, usually 20.12 metres (66’, 1 chain) wide . Some municipalities offer unused Shore Road allowances for sale, typically there is an application process and a draft Reference Plan is typically required to show structures currently on or near the Shore Road Allowance – municipalities typically want to check existing structures for zoning compliance. The final deposited Reference Plan forms the legal description for the part of the road allowance to be transferred.

Sometimes a dam is installed that changes the water level of the original water body. In cases where the land was patented by the Crown prior to the dam development the original boundary may be flooded (underwater). There may (or may not) be registered flooding rights or flooding easement rights but the flooded land may not have been expropriated. In this case ownership may extend to a flooded limit.

Another circumstance where you may not own to the water’s edge is if fill has been placed or dumped along a shoreline (by artificial, not natural means). In this circumstance the “water boundary” is typically “fixed” to the location it was prior to the fill being placed, sometimes survey records or historical aerial photography is used to aid in determining this.

Depending on the history of the property and the waterbody a survey plan may note different things about the water boundary. 

The water boundary will usually show up as a squiggly line with a +/- distance along it. The reason precise distances are usually not shown is because water fluctuates, since it fluctuates, it is not best represented by a precise distance. Sometimes numbers will be shown along the water boundary and there is a table of coordinates shown corresponding to the numbered locations.

There may be notes about the history of the specific waterbody in the Title Block (usually located on the right side of the plan or along the bottom). The Notes section may note the water body is controlled by a dam and also note the Crown patent date of the Lot and Concession the parcel of land is made up of. 

If there is a dam on the waterbody an original water edge elevation and a present water level elevation may be noted.

If there is a Shore Road Allowance the Notes may indicate that the water’s edge as shown on the plan is the best available evidence from the time of the Original Township survey and show a space 20.12metres (66’) inland and a thicker line with a +/- distance along it not along the water’s edge.

There may be filled lands indicated along the shoreline if significant fill or structures have been placed along it.

The Notes may indicate relevant Zoning Contours that the local municipality has building restrictions set at.

There may be +/- distance/setbacks shown from the water to any structures located near the shoreline.

Benchmark and vertical datum information are sometimes also noted on survey plans with a water boundary.

It is always a good practice to check with your Local Municipality or Conservation Authority if there are any specifics that need to be represented on your survey plan.

Depending on what your goals are a boundary survey plan may be useful for different reasons.

• May be required by your local Municipality/Township to apply for a building permit
• Transferring property (Reference Plans can be used to legally describe parcels of land)
• Showing the boundaries of your property with ties to structures on or near boundaries