MacDowell Dam, New Hampshire

As in other parts of the country, most of the lakes in New England are manmade. Edward MacDowell Lake was created by the construction of the Edward MacDowell Dam, in 1948-1950. It is part of a network of flood control stuctures in New England, built and operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The dam and the lake it empounds are on Nubanusit Brook, protecting Peterborough and other communities downstream, and is one of five flood control dams in the Merrimack River Basin. Other Army Corps flood control structures in New Hampshire include the Hopkinton and Everett Dams and lakes in Contoocook, the Blackwater Dam and lake in Webster, the Surry Mountain Dam and lake in Surry. All flood control structures in New England are operated by the Reservoir Regulation Team, based out of a control center in Concord, Massachusetts.