Product
Floating Wetlands
You can use it in any water environment requiring treatment, and it has a remarkably high effect on:


Features
An environmentally-sound and sustainable way of cleaning water.
EFFECTIVE ON:
- Anaerobic digestion
- Odour mitigation
- Nitrification processes
- De-nitrification and polishing
- Reduction in Bio-chemical oxygen demand
- Removal of TSS
- Reduction in faecal coliforms
- Reduction in phosphorus
- pH stabilisation
Perhaps the greatest advantage of our Floating Treatment Media is that you don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands – even millions – of dollars in land acquisition, building new facilities and hiring new staff to run them.
You might have an oxidation pond, lake or stream that isn’t meeting water quality standards any more – so instead of building a new one, or taking a mechanical approach, we put the Waterclean system straight onto the existing asset.
It’s a relatively straightforward procedure. And we’ll design a custom solution for you – or work with your existing consultants to achieve the same end.
Our Floating Treatment Media takes a low capital investment compared to traditional mechanical systems – especially since you can retrofit it to existing assets, meaning no need to buy land or build new ponds.
It also has very low operating and maintenance costs compared to other systems – and there are no operational energy costs whatsoever.
For example, we installed our Floating Treatment Media on one client’s anaerobic pond to eliminate odour. It was a 100% success, and our client achieved an annual energy cost saving of over $150,000.
The treatment process is simple, being completely biological – and highly effective. In fact, the biological nature of the treatment is exactly why it is so effective: because naturally-occurring microbes and symbiotic relationships are unsurpassed as a water-cleaning “system”.
In rigorous scientific studies, our media consistently performed to a far higher standard than required by New Zealand’s water treatment standards.
Floating Treatment Media gives you a lot of options that traditional systems can’t. For example, our system can:
- Fit into any existing space or water body shape
- Operate even in extreme climate or environmental conditions
- Easily be adjusted to concentrate on removing particular pollutants to suit your situation
- Work without problems on a fluctuating water level
- Increase your retention times for treatment manipulation
It’s modular properties mean that projects can be staged over more than one season.
We don’t know of any other treatment system that can be adapted to suit such a wide range of situations with so little effort.
It’s regulation commonplace these days for water treatment demands to outgrow your facilities. With our system, you can avoid the financial – and sometimes political – expense of buying more land to extend your facilities. Plus, in areas where irrigation schemes are used to dispose of treated water, the efficiency of our system in reducing nutrients in treated water means you need less land for the disposal fields.
This isn’t just theory. One local authority we serve, saved financially when we retrofitted a Floating Treatment Media to their existing pond, instead of buying land and constructing an alternative wetland system
Not only does our Floating Treatment Media require zero land use, but it also has many other environmental credentials.
- It takes no power to operate, so you don’t burn fossil fuels or use up electricity
- The manufacturing process is very low-energy since there are no refined products
- Using plants from eco-sourced seeds to harmonise with the natural vegetation
- The treatment process itself satisfies stringent water quality consent requirement, while reducing or eliminating the need for chemical dosing
Hydraulics and Typical Configurations
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In Action
The proof is in the pudding. We invite you to take a moment to review our case studies, projects, videos and images showcasing the SPEL Floating Wetlands.
How Can Wetlands Remove More Nutrients
ABOUT THE WEBINAR This webinar will present the nitrogen processes in wetlands from the modelling perspective and explore how wetlands can help remove more nutrients. …
Floating Wetlands: Creating Win-Win Scenarios With Eco Inspiration
Our increasingly urbanised environment puts many of our lakes, bays, and rivers in a precarious position. Left untreated, stormwater runoff from our cities can cause …
Why Working with Nature is Good Business
Green is in. People are becoming more conscious about their environmental impact and are demanding ecologically responsible products and services, so it makes sense for businesses to incorporate sustainability into their bottom line. Across different industries, many …
Constructed Floating Wetlands
Introduction SPEL Stormwater introduces Guest Speaker Dr. Peter Schwammberger presenting his research into rapid plant responses following relocation of a Constructed Floating Wetland from a …
RV Home base – Fraser Coast
Products: SPEL Floating Treatment Wetlands Council: Sunshine Coast Regional Council
Hydrocarbon Runoff Treatment & Algae Control – SPEL
Location: Bendigo Region, Central Victoria Customer: Fire-fighting Training Centre Problems: Hydrocarbon loadings, algae, high TSS Configuration: A Products: Treatment Train consisting of a off-Line SPEL …
Floating Wetlands Install at Maroochydore
Products: SPEL Floating Wetlands Council: Sunshine Coast Council
Three-month old floating wetlands used to dissipate wave energy at the Gulf of Mexico
Coastal erosion – Did you know that Louisiana loses a football field of land every hour?
Case study
Floating wetland treatment systems in residential development: assessing the benefits for residents, local authorities, and developers

ABSTRACT
Parklakes 2 is a new residential estate on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Runoff from the development was originally planned to be treated by a 2.6 ha constructed wetland. The estimated costs associated with the constructed wetland were significant. In addition, any potential water quality improvements would not be realised until approximately 60% of the estate was completed.
As an alternative solution, Covey Associates, in collaboration with the University of the Sunshine Coast and the local Council, developed a novel approach where the constructed wetland would be replaced by a lake with a 2,100 m 2 floating wetland treatment system (FWTS). A construction cost comparison of the two treatment approaches was conducted and it was found that the FWTS approach yielded savings of almost $1 million compared to the constructed wetland. In addition to the cost savings, the FWTS will be operational by the first stage of the development, which provides greater water quality benefits, as well as higher amenity for residents.
Increased open water areas are known to translate to higher property values and social benefits for the whole development which could potentially lead to further increased sales and property values. The development is also the subject of an ongoing stormwater quality evaluation study.
How we can help
Work with our experienced team of engineers and consultants on your next WSUD or stormwater treatment project.
Design assistance, complimentary modelling, installation, and maintenance packages. Contact us for an obligation free quote.