Floating Wetlands

Pop Quiz! What's more effective in improving water quality:

biology or chemistry?

Throughout the Midwest, water bodies struggle with unnaturally high nutrient loads. We see algal blooms, dead zones, and missed water quality targets.

Eons ago (or, like 10 or 15 years ago), everyone from municipalities and landscapers to golf courses and office complexes had a difficult choice to make. 

Expensive dredging of lakes and ponds, or worse, dumping more chemicals into the water? 

But then, along came a new idea… one that uses biology instead of chemistry to improve water quality.

Floating Wetlands can Solve a Million and One Problems,

with One Personalized Solution

Like so many of the services we offer, Floating Wetlands offer a long list of benefits.

Yes, they were invented to improve water quality by mimicking natural wetlands. But for our clients, Floating Wetlands offer so much more than that. 

They provide a diverse, sustainable habitat for pollinators, migratory birds, fish and local wildlife. They act as a natural solution to erosion control, are self-sustaining, durable, and can be designed for any size water body in any shape.

In short, Floating Wetlands are a perfect addition to anywhere that needs water quality mitigation and would also benefit from an attractive, eye-catching feature.

The science behind these pretty little islands

How do these floating islands, plopped in the middle of a retention pond or municipal lake, achieve so much?

Floating Wetlands biomimic – a fancy word that basically means to imitate – the process of a natural wetland by cleansing pollutants and nutrients through the surrounding ecosystem.

What you’ll see in your water body is a floating island, covered with plants. But the plants we see are only part of the story. 

Built into the island is a proprietary material (part of which is made from recycled plastic bottles) that encourages some pretty vigorous microbial activity. The roots of the plants reach down through the material, or island, into the water below, providing a massive amount of surface area.

That extra surface area is important, because it promotes the growth of small communities of biofilm which in turn carry an enormous amount of different microbes. It’s these microbes that digest the pollutants and nutrients in the water and then converts them into a productive mix that the plants can use.

In short, Floating Wetlands transform excess nutrients straight into biological diversity.

So, we plop a man-made floating island into the water and all our problems are solved?

Well, yes! Sort of.

Your Floating Wetland can remain in your pond or lake year round. Which means no winter removal and the wetlands are anchored in such a way that they can rise or fall after rainfall or with the seasons.

Of course, while they aren’t high maintenance, we do encourage a degree of proactive stewardship so their efficiency and longevity is maximized. (Come on, almost nothing is maintenance free.)

How we make Floating Wetlands just right for you

At Ecogardens, we have experience customizing nature’s solutions for our clients. And Floating Wetlands are no different. 

While typically populated with native plants, we can work with you to select species that fit your specific need - from attracting birds to deterring geese to increasing the fish population. Or, all of the above.

There’s no need to build any new space, we can slip your personalized wetland straight into an existing water body. 

Interested in learning more about how this sustainable, green solution can fit your needs? We've got you covered.