About: Upper Thames River Conservation Authority

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority is a body based in London, Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1947. It was responsible for the construction of the Fanshawe Dam, completed in the 1950s, to control flooding from the Thames River, which runs through London. During the last ice age, the site of London was the terminus of a large glacier. When the region warmed at the end of the ice age, the glacier melted and receded North, leaving behind a drainage ditch and features such as Sifton Bog. As such, the Thames is a watershed for most of Western Ontario, and is therefore highly susceptible to seasonal flooding. In 1937, such flooding had devastating consequences, destroying over 1,000 homes, and causing millions of dollars in damage.