Martin Ecosystems

Baton Rouge, LA

225.292.6750

Storm Water

How Do Floating Treatment Wetlands Work?

Maintaining compliance under stricter regulations with aging equipment and limited budgets is a continuous juggling act for communities around the world. This challenge lends to the desire to find cost-effective solutions for wastewater treatment.

Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTW) are an innovative solution engineered to enhance the natural processes that occur between water, plants, and micro organisms in order to remove contaminants from wastewater and stormwater in a passive and natural way.

Floating Treatment Wetlands provide a foundation for plants to grow. The matrix is open and porous in structure, which enables the plants’ roots to spread throughout ultimately creating a vast activated surface area for microbes and bacteria to live. The microbes and bacteria attach to the roots, the microscopic root hairs of the plants and on the fibers of the matrix. The microbes and bacteria secrete a sticky film called biofilm, where total suspended solids (TSS) are either trapped or settle. The microbes and bacteria digest the organic matter and nutrients, including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen and phosphorus through a process called bioremediation.

Biological Treatment takes place below
the water where hanging root systems grow.

There are 3 Critical Elements for Effective Biological Water Treatment:
1. Surface Area

The fibrous matrix along with the roots of the hydroponically grown vegetation create an extensive network of surface area for pollutant eating microbes and bacteria to live.

  • 1 ft2 of planted Floating Treatment Wetland has approximately 3300 ft2 of surface area.
    2. Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT)

Through the use of attached flow curtains Floating Treatment Wetlands control water flow thereby maximizing retention time. This allows for more treatment time.

3. Vegetation

Through photosynthesis plant roots secrete sugar and oxygen for microbes and bacteria to feed on. The microbes and bacteria in return, give the plants food such as nitrogen, phosphorous and ammonia through a process called phytoremediation.

Floating Treatment Wetlands are Effective for:

  • Anaerobic Digestion
  • Nitrification Processes
  • De-nitrification and Polishing
  • Removal of Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
  • Reduction in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
  • Reduction in Fecal Coliforms
  • Reduction in Phosphorus
  • Reduction in Turbidity


Close-up view of plant roots.

What is a Floating Treatment Wetland?

Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) are an emerging innovation in green technology that have demonstrated significant potential for wastewater and stormwater management.

Martin Ecosystems’ Floating Treatment Wetlands are manufactured using 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate, commonly referred to as PET plastic, the same plastic used to make drinking bottles. The PET fibers are bonded together forming a non-toxic, non woven fibrous matrix, creating the advantage of having an open structure with a vast surface area for biological treatment to occur.

“The use of recycled plastic prevents thousands of water bottles from ending up in landfills each year.”

FTWs are designed to float on the surface, providing a medium for emergent wetland plants to grow hydroponically – plants grow above the water with root systems submerged beneath the water. It is designed with years of scientific research combined with proven biological processes.

Floating Treatment Wetlands provide value for money and benefits above those of traditional water treatment systems. The low cost and modular design allows for customization of wastewater treatment needs in both new and old systems. FTWs extend the life of existing assets by retrofitting Floating Treatment Wetlands into current ponds.

America’s wastewater infrastructure recently received a grade of “D” according to the 2013 infrastructure report card provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). With an estimated cost of $298 billion over the next twenty years to get it back into working condition, finding cost effective water treatment systems is imperative.

“In the late 1980s and 1990s, FTWs were applied to the treatment of acid mine drainage in Canada with the results published in scientific literature,” said Chris Tanner, principal scientist of aquatic pollution management at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Hamilton, New Zealand). “But over the last 10 years, we have seen a rapid expansion in the development of various experimental and commercial versions, including studies of their treatment potential.”

Floating Treatment Wetlands are a proven cost-effective alternative to traditional wastewater treatment systems. They are designed to meet the water treatment needs of communities and businesses, while also delivering a solution that provides value for money spent.

Benefits of Floating Treatment Wetlands:

  • Cost Savings
  • Proven Performance
  • Minimal Environmental Impact
  • Flexibility
  • Zero Land Use
  • Tolerate Fluctuating Water Levels


Photography provided by Water Clean Technologies.

Our Love for Water Inspires Us to Protect It

Martin Ecosystems began in 2008, and has been family-owned and operated ever since.

Our owner, Ted Martin, grew up in a small fishing village and his love for water began at a young age. Ted and his four children keep the Martin Ecosystems wheels spinning, and they love what they do.

Martin Ecosystems Leadership Team
Martin Ecosystems Leadership Team

The Louisiana coast has been the backdrop for countless Martin family celebrations. It is where we work; it is where we play; it is our home.

The environmental challenges Louisiana faces are worldwide (i.e. marsh erosion, impaired waterbodies, threatened habitats). We are fully dedicated to finding a common link between industry and nature, while solving the most complex environmental challenges with matchless natural solutions.

Our Environmental Commitment Involves Environmental Technology

We are an environmental technology company that manufactures and supplies Floating Treatment Wetlands, Floating Breakwaters, and a bank stabilization solution-EcoShield™.

Our products provide cost-effective solutions for a variety of environmental challenges our world faces today including storm water and wastewater treatment, shoreline protection, and habitat restoration.

Based out of Louisiana, we first developed solutions for the coastal restoration and protection challenges affecting our home state, but today we serve customers in 15 states and several foreign markets.

Our innovative combination of engineering and ecology improves water quality, establishes sustainable habitats and creates resilient shorelines.

We use recycled products with minimal footprints to improve a variety of water environments. We believe it is our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth’s resources.

  • We are RECYCLING by using a matrix material made of 100% recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic soda and water bottles to manufacture all our products.
  • We are REDUCING the amount of plastic from entering the environment and going into landfills.
  • We are REUSING post-consumer waste.

At Martin Ecosystems, our commitment to improving and protecting the environment is strong.

Interested in learning more about our company, product lines and services? Give us a call at (225) 292-6750!

Improving our Environment One Product at a Time: BioHaven® Floating Islands

After installation, our BioHaven® Floating Islands immediately begin working to simulate nature and provide a habitat.

But, with our environmental technology, there is more than what meets the eye. While our BioHaven® Floating Islands are beautiful to look at, it’s what’s happening beneath the surface that sets us apart.

These Floating Islands are intentionally manufactured to be eco-friendly and they comprise four components:

  1. Matrix
  2. Foam for Buoyancy
  3. Vegetation
  4. Planting Medium

These four elements combine to create a dynamic and intricate process.

As the aquatic vegetation grows hydroponically, plant roots permeate the matrix area and beyond, growing into the water column. Through a process called Phytoremediation, the rooted plants eliminate and consume unwanted nutrients from the water as a food source.

The surface area of the Floating Islands is ideal for Biofilm growth, which is a sticky mixture of bacteria, fungus and algae). Within the biofilm, microbes break down harmful water pollutants such as nitrates and phosphorous, through a process called Bioremediation.

Why Choose BioHaven® Floating Islands?

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Vegetation grows much faster with this environmental technology because the trapped nutrients act as a fertilizer for the aquatic plants and biofilm.

The BioHaven® Floating Islands are excellent for treating nutrient-loaded waters due to the purpose of their design: to filter sediment, pollutants, nutrients and organics. They also provide a perfect surface area for natural, biochemical processes to occur.

At Martin Ecosystems, we use science, patented technology and nature to improve the environment.

If you’re looking to improve your water quality, reduce erosion, create a new habitat or restore a lost one, give us a call at 225-292-6750.