The agency that manages the watershed containing the Carp River in Ottawa's Kanata West district has defended itself after criticism from the city's auditor general.

In a report released Wednesday, auditor Alain Lalonde said the Missisippi Valley Conservation Authority was the first to suggest building on the undeveloped fringe of the Carp River flood plain.

The report said development in such areas "is not normally accepted by other conservation authorities in Ontario, including the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority."

Paul Lehman, general manager of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, responded Thursday that in fact, the agency has not yet approved any development within the 28-hectare flood fringe of the Carp River and won't give the go-ahead until an independent review of the project is finished later this year.

But he said the development project would benefit the river because the landowners who want to build housing and big box stores there have also agreed to restore the riverbank — something that is necessary to deal with drainage problems and wildlife habitat loss caused by a buildup of sediment in the river.

"I think the conservation authority certainly feels that this project has value and is important for the Carp River, and for the community," Lehman said.

The auditor isn't the only person who has criticized the authority since the auditor's report was released.

Coun. Alex Cullen said councillors relied on whether the conservation authority approved of the Kanata West development plan before giving its own go-ahead.

"And, you know, they said yes," he said. "And we assume that they've done their due diligence, and we discover that they're part of the problem as well."

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.

In January, the city discovered that the computer model used to predict flood levels in the Kanata West project contained an error.

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

On Wednesday, Lalonde released a report on the study containing the model, finding it was incomplete, contained errors and involved a consultant in a possible conflict of interest. The city is also hiring an engineering firm to do an independent review of engineering work on the Carp River project.