Hopkinton-Everett Lakes in Hopkinton, Henniker, Dunbarton, and Weare, New Hampshire is a multi-purpose project located in the Merrimack River Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District constructed the Hopkinton Dam and Everett Dam between 1959 and 1963 as part of the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes flood risk management project, at a cost of $21,100,000. The dams were authorized as part of the Flood Control Act of 1938, and as amended by acts in 1941 and 1944 and the Merrimack River Flood Control Compact of 1957. The Hopkinton Dam, located on the Contoocook River in Hopkinton, and the Everett Dam, located on the Piscataquog River in Weare, are two of five flood risk management dams in the Merrimack River Basin. The Hopkinton Dam is a rolled rock and earth fill embankment with a length of 790 feet and height of 76 feet. The Everett Dam is a rolled rock and earth fill embankment that is 2,000 feet long and 115 feet high. In minor flood conditions, the Hopkinton and Everett Dams work independently of each other. For optimum flood protection in moderate to major flood conditions, the Hopkinton and Everett reservoirs connect via a two-mile long canal to form one large reservoir. At maximum capacity, the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes reservoir can store 51.2 billion gallons of floodwaters.
The Hopkinton-Everett Lakes project provides flood protection to residential, commercial, and industrial property downstream on the Contoocook and Piscataquog rivers, which are tributaries of the Merrimack River. Hopkinton Lake protects the communities of Concord, Boscawen, Canterbury, and Bow, while Everett Lake protects Manchester and Goffstown. Operating in conjunction with other Corps dams in the Merrimack River Basin, the project also helps protect major industrial centers along the Merrimack River, including Nashua and the Massachusetts communities of Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill.
While the main purpose of Hopkinton-Everett Lakes is to provide flood risk management to the Merrimack River Basin, over the years the project has become a recreational hotspot. With miles of mountain bike, walking, snowmobile, and OHRV trails, hunting, fishing, boat ramps, and developed recreation areas at Elm Brook Park and Clough State Park, the lakes can accommodate all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the natural resources at Hopkinton-Everett Lakes for multiple uses: flood risk management, wildlife habitat, forestry, watershed protection, and outdoor recreation. All project lands and waters are under the jurisdiction of CFR Title 36 regulations, state, and local laws.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is updating the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes Master Plan. The Master Plan is the strategic land use management document that guides the comprehensive management and development of all project resources throughout the life of a USACE project. The Master Plan guides efficient and cost-effective management, development, and use of project lands. It is a vital tool for the responsible stewardship and sustainability of project resources for the benefit of present and future generations. The Master Plan guides and articulates USACE responsibilities, pursuant to federal laws to preserve, conserve, restore, maintain, manage, and develop project lands and waters and associated resources. The intent of an updated Master Plan is to present a current inventory and assessment of resources, provide an analysis of resource use, and evaluate existing and future needs required to protect and improve the value of resources at a project.
The current Hopkinton-Everett Lakes Master Plan, last approved in 1978, needs revision to address changes in regional land use, population, outdoor recreation trends, and the USACE management policy. Key topics to be discussed in the revised Master Plan include revised land use classifications, new natural and recreational resource management objectives, recreation facility needs, and special issues such as invasive species management and threatened and endangered species habitat. The Master Plan revision WILL NOT address the technical and operational aspects of the lake related to flood risk management or the water conservation missions of the project. During the process, the team will collect data, conduct analysis, prepare a draft report (which will become available for public and agency comments), and ultimately finalize and adopt the new Master Plan.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will host an open house on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Slusser Center, to share details on a draft revision process of the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes Master Plan and showcase the existing land use classification maps, which are original from 1978. A 30-day public comment period began on April 8, 2025, and will end on May 9, 2025.