Suffield and Windsor Locks officials want to know and have authorized a team of engineers to prepare a hydropower feasibility study and an assessment of funding needs to turn any plan into reality.

After filing joint applications last year, the towns were awarded two grants to fund the projects, one by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and the second by the state Historic Preservation Office. The grant funds will cover 100 percent of the two studies’ cost.

The capital needs assessment will look at such things as the condition of the locks, sedimentation, the condition of the canal’s bottom and side slopes, and the strength of the masonry walls, the aqueduct, and the head gate.

The hydropower study will determine if the existing hydropower infrastructure can be restored and upgraded to produce renewable electricity. The project went out to bid last fall and was awarded to the engineering firm of Fuss & O’Neill.

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