Thursday, March 11, 2010

Three New ACF Floating Wetlands Launched in Gainesville, Florida





Successful launching of three floating wetland platforms occurred yesterday - March 11th, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida.

The platforms are ACF Floating Wetland units made from post-consumer recycled polypropylene and utilize native aquatic plants obtained from a permitted wetland nursery.

The University of Florida has conducted years of research concerning the efficiency of emergent aquatic plant species at removing nutrients and other pollutants from stormwater.

UF staff is continuing the research with the three floating wetland systems.

The testing not only involves nutrient removal capabilities, but also heavy metals, other pollutants and fecal coliform removal efficiencies too!

The ACF Floating Wetland platforms are rigid and permanent - unlike the soft Ethylene Vinyl Acetate foam mats made in China and used in many other floating wetland systems.   ACF Floating wetlands also offer the advantage of allowing light to penetrate through the open architecture as well as O2 exchange where solid mats shade out light and can cause decline in protected benthic grasses.

The ACF Floating wetland system has a 2" thick structural form that allows root mass to grow horizontally as well as vertically, protecting the plant roots from Carp and allowing the plants to be used for many years without the necessity of being replaced.

Other floating wetland systems recommend changing plants yearly - running operating costs up over time.  However, with the ACF floating wetland system, plants can create a moderately mature root mass system that immediately support new sprout growth upon upper bio-mass harvest.  Replacing plants annually creates an issue of small, immature and juvenile root systems and less root mass contact with the water.

We will keep you posted on the ACF Floating Wetland systems!  To Deploy one of these systems in your waterway, call Kevin @ 904-294-2656.

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