Kissimmee River restoration wraps up July 30, 2021, by Eldin Ganic The USACE Jacksonville District hosted a ribbon-cutting event yesterday to celebrate the completion of the construction for the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. The scheme restores more than 40 square miles of the river floodplain ecosystem, 20,000 acres of wetlands, and 44 miles of the historic river channel. This major restoration effort is a 50-50 partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Over the past 22 years, the USACE and SFWMD worked together to: Complete backfilling of 22-miles of the C-38 canal between Lakes Kissimmee and Okeechobee.