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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- They’re called watersheds. In times of high levels of water around creeks, holding structure help to control flooding.

Wapello County is part of Soap Creek Watershed which covers a four-county area.

The county has also partnered with Chequest which is adjacent to Soap Creek Watershed.

And just recently the state of Iowa picked three watersheds to give money to.

The county’s partnership with Soap Creek and Chequest was awarded $1.5 million.

“Over the year 2013, the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa will be looking at the areas and kind of holding public hearings and coming up with projects and then they will refine that and they will in 2014 start construction of the project,” said Jerry Parker, Wapello County Supervisor.

Parker said the projects can be anything from a pond, a holding structure to hold back water or it could be partnering with a farmer to create terraces to protect farmland.