About the Project

The Waterloom Falls Hydroelectric Project is a small, federally exempt hydroelectric plant (FERC Project No. P-7920, exemption issued 1985) at the Waterloom Pond Dam in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. The dam sits at the outlet of Waterloom Pond on a site whose water-power history goes back to the region's mill era.

MadKo Energy, LLC took over the project in 2023 and is carrying out a complete restoration: repairing the dam, replacing the original turbine and generator with modern equipment, rebuilding the headgate and trash rack systems, rehabilitating the penstock, and constructing a new generator house on the preserved foundations of the old mill buildings. When the work is complete, the plant will once again deliver clean, locally generated hydropower to the New Hampshire grid.

This journal is the running record of that work — written by the project team, dated to when the work happened, and illustrated with photographs taken on site.

Questions about the project or the pond? The work is coordinated with the Town of New Ipswich and the relevant state agencies, and drawdown notices are published ahead of time. For anything else, use the contact information on file with the Town.

A safety note: the dam, headgate, and construction areas are an active worksite and are posted as restricted. Please enjoy the project from a safe distance — and from this blog.