MAYFLOWER, Ark. (KTHV) – When you ask, THV11 listens. At Lake Conway in Mayflower, homeowners along the lake have experienced ongoing flooding issues.
One man noticed drilling at the dam and he wanted to know if there were new efforts to control the water flow.
11 Listens went and got the answers. For homeowners living along the edges of Lake Conway, there is always potential for flooding.
“There's a lot of low lying areas a lot of the housing areas are in the flood plain and we can only evacuate so much water through the dam at one time," said Thomas Bly with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
AGFC owns and manages the lake. Bly said the dam is currently working. However, there's been some drilling and digging at the dam and neighbors have taken notice. “What that group was doing is they're going down and taking core samples to make sure the soils are suitable for any renovations or modifications that are made," said Bly.
It's a part of a feasibility study to find more ways to manage Lake Conway's water levels. The structure is 70 years old and needs an upgrade. The plan is to convert the dam into a weir spillway design.
"Currently, we have to hold the lake down a foot below normal pool during the winter months for a 6-month period from November until March and this will allow for more storage for rain events in the winter," said Bly. While the dam has been partially renovated in the past with new gates, stems and motors. Its current 110-foot spillway has 15 spillway gates that are still under manual operation.
"They're electric but we have to get out there put fuses in turn them on, crank them up, stop them and we're trying to take this human element out of this," said Bly. The feasibility study is just the first phase to layout the groundwork. “Then phase two will be zeroing in on the specific design and all the parts associated with that and then phase three would be construction," he added.
It's a project that's certain to come with a hefty price tag. Bly said capitol project funds are spread across the state, so he said they're expecting some competition. As for phase one, they're planning to get reports back in September. The design phase will begin next year.