Great Lakes WATER Institute worked concurrently at the GLWI and have provided large engineering contributions to the Great Lakes Urban Coastal Observing System (GLUCOS). Great Lakes WATER Institute Great Lakes WATER Institute (also known as the WATER Institute, Wisconsin Aquatic Technology and Environmental Research Institute, GLWI) is a freshwater research center of the University of Wisconsin System administered by the Graduate School of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Located on Milwaukee's inner harbor, it is the only major aquatic research institution located on Lake Michigan and the largest of its kind in the Great Lakes region. The WATER Institute is both a UW-Milwaukee Center of Excellence
Great Lakes U.S. side highlight five large municipal systems (those of Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Gary) as being the largest current periodic sources of untreated discharges into the Great Lakes. Algae such as diatoms, along with other phytoplankton, are photosynthetic primary producers supporting the food web of The Great Lakes. The changes in the size or in the function of the primary producers may have a direct or an indirect impact on the food web. Photosynthesis carried out by diatoms comprises about one fifth of the total photosynthesis. By taking CO2 out of the water, to photosynthesize, diatoms help to stabilize