Thanks for featuring the historic power canal
It was great to see Nashua’s historic power canal on the front page of The Telegraph. This three-mile canal from the millpond below Mine Falls Dam is in excellent condition and is quite unique. I’m mystified why it isn’t a more prominent feature of the city’s recreational activities. It would provide an excellent venue for winter skating and summer kayak races, particularly with the greater flushing flow that the new outlet makes possible.
But the canal is just one important feature along Nashua’s waterfront, where there are many opportunities for public amenities that would have real economic value. While the city has focused attention to good effect on improvements along the Nashua River, there are latent opportunities on the Merrimack. A greenway like in Lowell would be a good starting point. And those happy water skiers visible from Nashua’s bridges? They come upstream to Nashua’s waters from Massachusetts’ excellent boat ramps, of which there are none in the highly navigable New Hampshire stretch of the lower Merrimack.
Gene Porter
Nashua