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A field trial study with side-by-side monitoring of two parallel stormwater treatment ponds, one of which contained a floating treatment wetland (FTW), has been carried out to assess the benefit of retrofitting a conventional retention pond with a FTW. Inflow and outflow event mean concentrations (EMCs) were quantified and used to assess the overall pollutant removal efficiency of each system. Findings show that a FTW can significantly improve the runoff water quality and thus reduce the impact on the receiving environment. The present study reveals that a pond retrofit with a FTW would be more efficient than a conventional retention pond, exhibiting a 41% (for total suspended solids – TSS), 40% (for particulate zinc – PZn), 39% (for particulate copper – PCu) and 16% (for dissolved copper – DCu) lower effluent EMC. Physical entrapment of the particulate pollutants into the roots’ biofilm seems be a significant …