Flooding impacts Lake Conway renovations

CONWAY, Ark. — Lake Conway’s waters have surged nearly 8 feet higher after days of heavy rain earlier this month, complicating ongoing efforts to renovate the popular fishing and hunting reservoir.

“This lake was built for fishing and hunting. It is not a flood control lake. It was never built for that,” said Nick Feltz, a marine biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The flooding followed a pattern that local biologists had anticipated, as Lake Conway, which was drained last year for renovation, refilled quickly due to the seasonal rains. The surge has raised concerns, but Feltz emphasized that such fluctuations are expected.

“It’s something, a challenge that we’re always, always going to face,” he said, acknowledging the constant challenge of managing the lake through the various weather conditions.

Two weeks ago, the lake’s water levels rose nearly 8 feet, thanks to several days of intense rainfall, but there is a silver lining. Feltz noted that the lake had been drained by about six or seven feet before the rain, which helped prevent even more significant flooding.

“The silver lining is that we did have the lake six, seven feet down. If we had the lake at normal pool, it would have been very challenging to not flood homes with the type of rain event that we had,” he said.

Despite the rise in water, the renovation project is moving forward. According to biologists, the refilled lake does not significantly hinder the efforts, which had been planned for such weather scenarios.

“In the initial, you know, planning stages of the renovation project, this was all incorporated, knowing that we would get these pretty severe winter and spring rains in general. In the winter and spring, an inch of rain is a foot to the lake, so it’s no surprise,” Feltz said.

The ongoing renovation, aimed at improving the lake’s ecosystem and addressing long-term environmental concerns, includes draining the lake to a lower level. 

However, biologists emphasized that it was never the goal to empty the lake entirely. Given Lake Conway’s more than 75-year history, completely drying it out is almost impossible.

“It was never conceivable to have the goal be to dry the lake out entirely. Really, the best we can hope for, which still adequately achieves what we’re trying to do, is to get the lake about 10 feet down, which takes it from, you know, 6,000 acres to just a couple hundred,” Feltz explained.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is continuing to monitor water levels and assess the impacts of the rising waters as it moves forward with its renovation efforts. 

Despite the challenges, local biologists remain optimistic that the project will ultimately improve the lake’s long-term health and sustainability.