Cameron County was selected for a grant to restore native water systems, and they plan to use it for one of the gems that can only be found in the Rio Grande Valley, the resaca system.

Across Cameron County there are dozens and dozens of little bodies of water, which lead nowhere.

Long ago, they were offshoots of the Rio Grande that spread out across this region to form a delta.

Today, many people live alongside them.

Across Cameron County there are many resacas and ancient riverbeds left behind. Some have water, some are dry.

Cameron County Natural Resources Department Project Manager Augusto Sanchez Gonzalez says a new grant for the county focuses on opening access to the public.

"Allowing or giving public access for the people to enjoy the resacas so they can appreciate them and ultimately celebrate them, that's another goal," Gonzalez said.

The grant of up to $10 million will come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, funded by Congress through the Federal Resources Development Act.

The grant requires no match from the county, meaning it's 100 percent federal.

"The catch is the county needs to provide the easements or property for the project to take place," Gonzalez said.

He says the grant's priorities include what the government calls environmental justice initiatives, so more people can use the resource, flood control and water storage.

Many of the old resacas were also separated by roads, neighborhoods or development. The county hopes to reconnect resacas.

Gonzalez says the county is looking into what it can do with the funding over the next 18 months, after that construction will begin.