Figure 1. Map showing the location of USGS gaging
stations in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Introduction

Since 1887, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been the principal Federal agency providing water information needed to manage the Nation's water resources. In 1889, the USGS established the first streamflow-gaging site on the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. In 2005, the USGS operates and maintains more than 7,000 streamflow-gaging stations on rivers in the United States.

The Contoocook River gage is 1 of 98 gaging stations in New Hampshire and Vermont (fig.1). This gaging station was established in 1963 in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The primary purpose of the gage is to provide data on outflows from Hopkinton Dam to assist the Corps in flood control operations.