Floating wetlands help improve water

Latest technology adopted by Fonterra and the Department of Conservation’s partnership ‘Living Water’ is proving a success in cleaning up waterways.

Developed by Massey University, the floating treatment wetlands consist of native wetland plants, tethered to buoyant mats or ‘rafts’ that sit on the water surface. Capable of removing large amounts of nutrients, the rafts filter water in drains and runoff before it hits waterways.

Living Water installed a number of the floating wetlands in nutrient enriched drains around Lake Areare to monitor the technology.

DOC community ranger Michael Paviour has been leading Living Water’s work in the Waikato and is excited by the early results from the trial.

“The floating treatment wetlands have only been installed for a relatively short time but initial tests and the rapid plant growth indicates they are doing a good job removing nutrients from the water.

Effective method

“The floating wetlands are by no means a silver bullet for solving water quality but when used alongside other activity, such as silt traps and riparian planting, they are proving to be a practical and effective method for improving water quality.”

Fonterra Living Water programme leader Tim Brandenburg says the floating wetlands are an innovative new tool for nutrient management and have the potential to be very useful on farms.

“If the positive results from this trial continue, this technology could prove very appealing to our farmers as a simple tool for managing nutrient levels in ponds and drains.

Sustainable daying

“The great thing about the floating wetlands is they don’t just remove nutrients from waterways, they also attract bird and insect life and the grasses have the potential to be harvested as supplement feed for stock.”

Living Water will run the trial until the middle of this year and if the positive result trend continues the floating wetlands could be rolled out in waterways around the country.  

Living Water is a 10-year partnership between Fonterra and DOC focusing on five significant dairying regions with the vision a sustainable dairy industry is part of healthy, functioning ecosystems that together will enrich the lives of all New Zealanders.


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