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
SS City of Milwaukee navigation of the vessel took place. There is also a small pilot house on the stern that is used for docking the vessel. The ship was built in 1930 and launched in 1931 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin to replace , which sank with all hands on October 22, 1929 during a gale. Car ferry service had been introduced to the Great Lakes in 1892, and there was many as 14 vessels operating on the lakes at the system's peak. These specialized vessels were capable of carrying up to 34 railroad cars across the often stormy and ice-packed lakes at any time