The water was lower by about four feet in the northern half of the Rivers of America at Disneyland Wednesday afternoon, as the park started to drain it so it could start work on re-routing the river and more.

The water is being recycled, according to Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.

“All the resort’s water is sent to the Orange County Water District and recycled,” she said.

The southern half of the river will keep its water, held in place by coffer dams installed by the park on both sides of Tom Sawyer Island. Park officials decided they wanted to keep a nice view of the river from Frontierland and New Orleans Square during the rather lengthy project, instead of surrounding the river with a construction fence for nearly two years.

As part of the “Star Wars” land project, the park plans to slightly reduce the size of Tom Sawyer Island, and re-route the course of the river around the island, a route it has had since the park opened in 1955.

The new route will mean a slightly shorter excursion on the river for the Mark Twain Riverboat, and the Sailing Ship Columbia when the river reopens to boat traffic, which is estimated to be some time in 2017.

The Disneyland Railroad will also get re-routed as part of the project, too, with the trains and engines not running during this time – though the park has put an engine and some railroad cars on display at the Main Street and New Orleans Square station. The Mark Twain Riverboat is also open for visits at the Frontierland Landing.

Earlier in the week, Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, announced that the “Star Wars” land project would begin construction some time in April of this year, but the company does not have an exact date at this time.

Meanwhile, crews at Disneyland have already demolished the Circle D Corral, which used to house the horses used for the Main Street U.S.A. Street Cars, in the backstage area. The horses are now stabled at a facility in east Anaheim and brought to the park each day for their four-hour shift.

All the water from the park will go through the Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System, rather than be drained out to the ocean after filtering, according to Cathy Green, president of the district.

Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com