A deal may be in the offing to build two hydroelectric plants in Spanish Fork Canyon years earlier than planned.

About 40 state, local and federal officials toured two proposed hydroelectric sites in the canyon on Friday morning, one near Sixth Water and one in Diamond Fork Canyon.

Every day about 50 megawatts of potential electricity -- enough to power almost all of Springville's residential and commercial demand -- go untapped in the canyon as more than 300 cubic feet of water rush through a huge pipeline in the canyon every second.

Right now the energy from the roaring water is dissipated as it warms the water slightly. Revenue from the sale of the electricity generated by the proposed power plants could bring more than $5 million annually, money which could possibly be used to reduce the $22 million bill collected annually in property taxes from Utah County residents by the Central Utah Project, Central Utah Water Conservancy District officials have said.

Relying on funding from federal sources, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District would not be able to fund the hydroplants until 2020 or later, said project manager Lee Wimmer.

A deal to build the plants earlier had been delayed because of a lawsuit over water and revenue rights that kept the Strawberry Water Users Association, Central Utah Water Conservancy District and U.S. Department of the Interior from negotiating, said Gary Aitken of Strawberry Water Users Association.

That case ended earlier this year and now the Strawberry Water Users Association plans to approach the U.S. Department of the Interior with a deal to finance the hydroplants immediately, bringing them online within two to three years. Representatives of Bank of America toured the sites with association members on Friday, and the bank will work with the association to find funding for the $40 million needed to build the hydroplants, Aitken said.

Reed Murray of the U.S. Department of the Interior said he is willing to listen to all proposals.

The Central Utah Project pipeline system runs from Strawberry Reservoir to Utah Valley. Started in 1956 and not expected to be completed until after 2020, the $2 billion project saves Utahns along the Wasatch Front from suffering severe effects from droughts.

In December 2004, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced they had approved the final segment of the project, called the Utah Lake System. The $450 million agreement included two hydroelectric plants to be built in Spanish Fork Canyon, as well as five segments of pipeline to deliver water to south Utah County, Juab County and Salt Lake County.

The pipelines would connect to the Central Utah Project pipeline finished earlier this year, which runs from above Strawberry Reservoir to the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. The project is funded with federal money and existing local property taxes.

When completed, the project will deliver 31,000 acre-feet of water to south Utah County cities, 30,000 feet to Salt Lake County and 40,000 into Utah Lake as an exchange for water stored in Jordanelle Reservoir, according to the Department of the Interior.

Caleb Warnock can be reached at 443-3263 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.