Floating Treatment Wetlands: Keeping our fresh water clean and healthy
Freshwater lakes around the world are in trouble.
Urbanization, waste treatment, landscape changes, agriculture and natural resource extraction cause runoff of nutrients, contaminants, petroleum products and organic materials into freshwater lakes around the world.
Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) or islands are small artificial platforms that allow aquatic plants to grow in water that is typically too deep for them. The unique ecosystem that develops creates the potential to capture nutrients and transform common pollutants that would otherwise plague and harm our lakes into harmless by-products.
This brochure explains how, where and why FTWs can be used to keep freshwater bodies clean.
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