A study used to approve a development along the Carp River in Ottawa's west end was incomplete, contained errors and involved a consultant in a possible conflict of interest, said the city's auditor general.

Alain Lalonde released an audit with recommendations Wednesday morning on a study concerning a development in Kanata West that was put on hold by the city earlier this year after a flaw was found in a computer model used to predict flood levels. The computer model was prepared by an engineering firm hired by the developer.

'People do not trust the studies that are paid for by developers and that are just looked at by city staff.'— Coun. Peggy Feltmate

Lalonde confirmed the error in flood predictions, and said the study was also missing information about slope stability and soil hazards.

He said that the engineering consultant was in a possible conflict of interest because the same firm was hired by both the city and the developer for studies concerning the same project.

He recommended that:

• The developers correct design errors at no cost to the city, which the developers are currently doing.
• The city not be allowed to use the same consultant as the developer on such a project.
• No development should occur in flood plains.
• The city should not participate in the Kanata West landowners group.

In addition, he said, the city should have a staff expert review developer-funded studies.

"We believe that maybe having a second set of eyes may have helped finding some of the mistakes that we have uncovered during our audit," he said, adding that the city might want to have its own staff do an additional study if more information is needed.

"But that should be done through city resources and having its own expertise."

In response to the findings, the city said in a news release that it will:

• Hire an engineering firm to do an independent review of engineering work on the Carp River project.
• Amend its purchasing bylaw to avoid the perceived conflict of interest, where possible.
• Present a report to council on its flood plain management policies later this year, based on a staff review currently underway.

However, city management said they think the city should continue to participate in the Kanta West landowners group as it is a landowner.

Little 'meat' in report: landowners group

Mike Green, project manager for the Kanata West landowners group, called the auditor general's report "very contradictory."

He criticized it for mentioning possible conflicts, but not specifying whether there were actual conflicts.

"As far as the errors in calculation, that was an issue that everybody's aware of. That is being dealt with," he added. "So really there wasn't a whole lot of meat to this report."

But Kanata South Coun. Peggy Feltmate said the findings of the audit made her wonder why city and provincial staff didn't ask questions about the development earlier, and reinforces public distrust of studies used by the city.

"The perception is that developers run this city and they may deny that, but certainly from a community's perpspective, we hear it over and over again when we look at things like traffic studies, heritage plans, when you look at some of the water issues," she said. "People do not trust the studies that are paid for by developers and that are just looked at by city staff."

Section released early

The audit on the Carp River Watershed Study was part of an annual report to be released earlier this year, but city council had requested that this particular section be released early.

The 700-hectare development was to be built along the Carp River, near Scotiabank Place, under a plan that would involve narrowing the flood plain.

In January, the city discovered that the computer model used to predict flood levels in the project contained a coding error, and consequently failed to account for water runoff from the development itself.

The model was part of an environmental assessment prepared by Totten Sims Hubicki Associates, consultants hired by the landowners.

Its findings would be used to decide how to narrow the flood plain and design the placement and elevation of roads and infrastructure.

As a result of the error, the city announced that it was putting the development on hold until it could examine the circumstances surrounding the development's approval.