Martin Ecosystems

Baton Rouge, LA

225.292.6750

Martin Ecosystems

Our Solution for Stormwater Treatment

Martin Ecosystems Floating Treatment Wetlands stormwater research

We’re already off to a very rocky start for this year’s hurricane season. As we track storms and prepare ourselves for the season, we want to bring to your attention the tremendous effects that stormwater has on our environment when left untreated. In this blog, we’ll explain the challenges that our planet is facing and how Martin Ecosystems is a part of the solution.

The Challenge

Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation and is soaked into the soil or held on the surface in streams, rivers, and other waterbodies, creating a challenge for communities everywhere. Many of our coastal waters, estuaries, rivers, streams, and lakes are defective as a result of pollution and/or physical alterations, with phosphorus and nitrogen pollution being just one of the problems.

This problem is so bad that the EPA reports that 55% of our nation’s rivers and streams do not support healthy populations of aquatic life. The demand for clean water continues to increase, therefore increasing the demand for cost-effective solutions to improve the environment.

The Solution

Floating Treatment Wetlands are a part of the solution. FTW is an innovative green infrastructure tool that provides stormwater treatment, value to communities, and cost competitiveness. With a strong background based on science and independent research, the FTW system improves stormwater naturally, while also improving habitats and aesthetic value.

Studies Prove that FTW are Highly Effective in Stormwater Treatment

 

  • Pasco County Master Reuse System

Pasco County, in Florida, has a vision to serve over 25,000 residential reclaimed water customers, and they are currently serving 12,000. The County is facing the challenge of lowering total nitrogen concentrations in their reclaimed water. One strategy they have pursued is to passively use storage facilities to reduce total nitrogen.

As a possible storage system enhancement, our Floating Wetland Islands (FWI) were studied in an 18-month controlled study. The results revealed that total nitrogen treatment was superior with the presence of Floating Wetland Islands! Removal efficiency for total nitrogen was measured to be approximately 63% during the study. Average total nitrogen concentrations were reduced on average from 6.4 mg/L to 2.4 mg/L.

Source: CH2MHILL  

 

  • Field Study Trial

A field trial study with side-by-side monitoring of two parallel stormwater treatment ponds, one of which contained a floating treatment wetland (FTW), was carried out to assess the benefit of retrofitting a conventional retention pond with a FTW. Inflow and outflow event mean concentrations (EMCs) were quantified and used to assess the overall pollutant removal efficiency of each system.

Findings show that a FTW can significantly improve the runoff water quality and thus reduce the impact on the receiving environment! The present study reveals that a pond retrofit with a FTW would be more efficient than a conventional retention pond, exhibiting a 41% (for total suspended solids – TSS), 40% (for particulate zinc – PZn), 39% (for particulate copper – PCu) and 16% (for dissolved copper – DCu) lower effluent EMC.

Source: Ecological Engineering

 

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. Click here to read in depth more about how this product works to clean water beneath the surface.

 

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!

Martin Ecosystems: Who We Are

Shorelines. River banks. Marsh. Wetlands. Waterscapes. Ponds. Lakes. Vegetation.

These aspects of nature are usually noticed, but not often given deeper thought. Perhaps you see and appreciate waterscapes, but don’t find yourself wondering how they were created, how they are maintained, or what exactly is going on below the surface.

This is where we come in.

In 2008, Ted Martin founded Martin Ecosystems, LLC, and it has been family-owned and operated ever since.

Ted was raised in a small fishing village surrounded by water, so this love for water began at a young age. His love and appreciation quickly grew into a passion to protect and preserve.

As a team and family, we share his passion as well. We have a strong commitment to improve and protect the environment we live in.

Here are just a few of the many environmental challenges that exist today:

  • Poor water quality
  • Coastal land loss
  • Marsh erosion
  • Threatened habitats
  • Consumer pollution
  • Impaired water bodies

At Martin Ecosystems, our mission is to provide environmental solutions by manufacturing innovative technologies that reduce erosion, improve water quality and beautify waterscapes.

Our family has experienced coastal land loss for decades, so we recognize the problem and have spent nearly 10 years creating a way to be a part of the solution.

We are an environmental technology company that manufactures products that provide cost-effective solutions for a variety of environmental challenges including: Stormwater and Waste Water Treatment, Shoreline Protection, and Habitat Restoration.

We currently manufacture:

In the engineering of our products, we believe it is our responsibility to be good stewards of the Earth’s resources – this is what makes us different from other companies.

By using a matrix material made of 100% recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic soda and water bottles to manufacture our products, we are:

  1. Reducing the amount of plastic from entering landfills
  2. Reusing post-consumer waste

Please contact us to learn more about our company, product lines and services. We would love to hear from you!

Shoreline Stabilization Project a Great Example of Innovative Ideas

“There is no one single solution to addressing the problems we have. This project is a prime example of what can happen when innovative ideas are put into practice.”, said Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Chip Kline.

The America’s WETLAND Foundation (AWF) has brought together public and private partners to create the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) Shoreline Stabilization and Restoration Project in Lafourche Parish, LA. Using an innovative green product developed by Baton Rouge based Martin Ecosystems,  America’s WETLAND Foundation will protect 1 mile of the GIWW  in Phase I of the project, where the embankment has been eroded and tidal surges threaten fragile freshwater marshes with saltwater intrusion. The completed project will involve a total of 4 miles of protection. (Phase 2 will begin in 2016) “We are proud to tackle an important impediment to coastal restoration-shoreline creep along the GIWW,” Sidney Coffee, senior advisor of the America’s WETLAND Foundation, said. “This canal has become a virtual line of demarcation between freshwater marshes and saltwater intrusion. By embedding native vegetation for protection of the levee in recycled permeable PET plastics at a fraction the time and costs of other methods, this could be a game changer and could be replicated all along the waterway.”

The America’s WETLAND Foundation has brought together public and private partners with a variety of interest in coastal restoration efforts including Ducks Unlimited, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the State of Louisiana, and private landowners. Private landowners are always looking for cost effective solutions to protect their land from erosion. “It is our hope that this project can be replicated all along the canal through Louisiana and Texas. It is far more affordable and increases the interest of landowners to get involved.” Ted Falgout, a private landowner partner on the project said.

The innovative technology utilized is recycled plastic material called Vegetated EcoShield™ manufactured by Martin Ecosystems. “EcoShield is a matrix material manufactured using recycled PET plastic drinking bottles. By providing a protective medium for vegetation to establish, grow and spread, it enhances the natural processes of the system by creating a vegetative shoreline and important coastal habitats,” Ted Martin, owner of Martin Ecosystems, said.

Phase 1 will be completed in January 2016 with the initial funding provided by AWF, Ducks Unlimited, CITGO, Shell ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Community Coffee. Additionally, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) recently awarded $250,000.00 to the Ducks Unlimited/AWF partnership for the project’s next phase. It is anticipated that Phase II will install and additional 3 miles of EcoShield.