CONWAY, Ark. — It’s no secret that Conway is prone to floodwaters, something you know especially well if you live there.
The city is advancing on a major project to cut down on the flooding that affects so many neighborhoods and businesses.
"You've got brush and trees hanging over into the creek that's what it's done,” said Bobby Kelly, Conway spokesperson.
Years and years of growth clog creeks running through Conway causing drainage issues.
"The creek gets really high, I’ve flooded once,” said Kyla Caputo, living on Tucker Creek.
Caputo’s property was ruined one year during a flood.
“I ripped up all my carpet and replaced it,” Caputo said with a sigh.
But since then, crews have cleared away 20 years of shrub build up along Tucker Creek.
"We started with Tucker Creek because it's our main drainage creek that takes water out west to the Arkansas River,” said Kelly. “Once we completed that we moved on to its tributaries."
Crews now have their attention on Spring Creek, another area prone to flooding.
They have completed one side, now they’ve turned on the other.
"When it's all said and done our creeks will perform a heck of a lot better in terms of their hydraulic efficiency,” said Kelly.
She said the job’s not easy, though.
"Unless you're down in these creeks you don't see how bad it is from your vehicle,” said Kelly.
It took the city a year to completely clear Tucker Creek.
"They bush hogged everything, everything was gone,” said Caputo.
But now Caputo fears the shrub is only going to come back again as she already sees it growing over the creek in her back yard.
"If they keep it down it's going to be better,” said Caputo.
City officials are watching especially for the major creeks, like Tucker.
"We are going to stay on top of it,” said Kelly. “We can't say we are out of the woods completely because anything can happen but we are better prepared now to handle a big rain event than years before."
Conway expects to finish the Spring Creek project by the end of the year, then it’ll set eyes on the next creek, but that location hasn’t been determined yet.