A floatable device comprises a structure made of a battery of linked nets, floats, a mass of decomposable material which releases phenolic compounds during decomposition in water and nutrient sequestering plants, at least some of the plants having a high content of aerenchyma tissues. Preferably, the decomposable material is selected from the group consisting of barley straw, coir, heather, wood industry waste and lavender. The phenolic compounds produced by the decomposable material mix with oxygen in the water and, catalysed by phenol oxidase or direct sunlight, generate free radicals as an algaecide. A method for removing polluting nutrients from water comprises the steps of placing the floatable device at the surface of a body of water, leaving the floatable device in place for a period of time, removing the floatable device from the water, desorbing the trapped nutrients, such that the nutrients are used as a fertiliser, and recharging the structure with fresh decomposable material and aquatic plants. Use of the enzymic latch mechanism to treat polluted water in ponds, lakes, reservoirs and flowing waters is also claimed.
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