Lake Conway is treacherous for new boaters due to stumps and logs not visible on the surface. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission tried to remedy this problem by creating boating lanes for boaters navigating the lake. Public docks and accessible fishing is available for fishermen. Lake Conway is well known for large crappie due to the size limitation of a 10-inch minimum to keep the fish. A nursery pond, on the east side of the lake, is situated close to the lake, and is important for maintaining the numerous crappie in the lake. Fingerling size crappie are grown in the pond to ensure predators cannot eat them, and released through a canal connected to the lake when the crappie reach an appropriate size to survive in the main lake. crappie were almost nonexistent in the lake before 1968. After the construction of the nursery pond, the number of crappie soared. On March 29, 2013 a pipeline containing oil burst in Mayflower. Twenty-two homes were evacuated, and the pipeline was shut off after the leak was discovered. Over 12,000 barrels of oil and water were recovered when cleaning the area. The Environmental Protection Agency and The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration sent officials to access the situation. There was concern over oil reaching Lake Conway through a storm drain system that fed a cove. Local law enforcement and firefighters were able to build dikes to prevent the oil from reaching the lake. Nearly 3,600 ft of boom was provided by Exxon for precautionary reasons.