Simplified: A pilot project at Covell Lake this summer will study how a structure with floating plants can create habitat for fish and pollinators as well as improving water quality.

Why it matters

  • The project is a partnership between Friends of the Big Sioux River (FBSR) and CNH, the parent company of Raven Industries. The organizations worked together to design and build the floating habitat.
  • FBSR Executive Director Travis Entenman said he initially came up with the idea after seeing a similar project in Chicago in which floating habitats help improve sustainability, water quality and habitat access.
  • Raven has long been interested in preserving water quality in the Big Sioux River, especially given the business's proximity to the river at its downtown office. The company's sustainability committee often holds river cleanup events, and the FBSR partnership was a natural extension of that, said John Waltz, an electrical design engineer.
"A lot of people like to complain about (the river), but not a lot of people like to do something about it," Waltz said. "So, hopefully, through this project and any attention it gets, I'm hoping to inspire more people to get involved."

Tell me more

CNH Program Manager Sienna Mayer said she reached out to Entenman last fall to look for local community partnerships for the sustainability committee. Right away, the committee was excited by the floating habitat idea and got to work engineering how to make it happen.

"With our background as engineers, it was a really good fit for a technical and design project that directly had implications for the ecosystem and water quality," Mayer said.

The floating habitats are made up of four individual square structures of PVC pipe. Then, they're affixed with burlap sacks filled with coconut husks, which is where seeds will be planted.

  • The plants will grow directly into the water, and their hanging root systems will serve to both filter the water and create habitats for fish.
  • Then, the plants on top will be a habitat for pollinators, birds, and whatever other creatures need a home.
  • In total, there are four 5.5-foot by 6-foot sections of PVC pipe connected to one another.
"Our thought is that we have this out in a water body with education around it, on-shore education, and it's just getting people thinking about water quality in a different way," Entenman said.

What happens next?

The floating habitats will be installed Friday at Covell Lake.

This year, the floating habitat is a pilot project, but Entenman hopes it's the kind of thing that could be installed along the Big Sioux River in the future.