Martin Ecosystems

Baton Rouge, LA

225.292.6750

natural water treatment

Wastewater Treatment Success Across the Globe

Wastewater Treatment

Our counterparts in New Zealand and Australia have seen great success in wastewater treatment on their side of the planet. Their stories inspire us and our vision to see the same wastewater treatment success here in the United States.

What can we learn from wastewater treatment operations in New Zealand?

Wastewater Treatment in New Zealand

Waterclean Technologies has introduced Floating Treatment Wetlands to New Zealand, becoming an industry leader for municipal wastewater treatment.

Waterclean states that Floating Treatment Wetlands are a low-cost choice for wastewater treatment: “The low-tech, biological nature of Floating Treatment Wetlands makes it a true low cost option. Compared with other water treatment solutions, very little capital expenditure and up skilling is required and the floating treatment wetlands has nominal maintenance costs.”

Waterclean is currently helping municipalities extend the productive life of existing assets by retrofitting floating treatment wetlands.

They’ve partnered with Spel Environmental, a family owned business across Australia, that specializes in stormwater and water quality improvement.

Spel has also found Floating Treatment Wetlands to be efficient and a low-cost means to enhance municipal wastewater treatment plants. Spel says, “You can retro-fit it to existing facilities with minimal cost or long-term overheads- or work the media into the design of new facilities with low operational costs… It also offers a truly environmentally-sound and sustainable way of cleaning water- something increasingly important to councils and municipalities.”                                                                              

Spel Waterclean Floating Wetlands Applications

These two companies have worked together to see a dramatic effect on municipal wastewater and stormwater applications.

They have found that Floating Wetlands can be positioned in loaded “hot-spots” in natural waterways to improve water quality. Beyond stream and lake restoration, they also make beautiful environmentally-enhancing features in waterbodies in facilities such as parks and zoos. Because they are so visually appealing, they make stunning landscaping features for private residential projects as well.

 A Solution to Cleaning Wastewater for Communities Everywhere

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s wastewater infrastructure was recently given a grade of D+, and the cost to fix this problem has been estimated to cost $271 billion over 20 years. As seen in New Zealand and Australia, Floating Treatment Wetlands are a green, innovative, and cost-effective solution for cleaning wastewater everywhere that can save thousands of dollars in capital and operational costs.

Contact us to learn more about this innovative solution to your wastewater treatment needs!

 

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!