SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin-Superior is running the only Great Lakes land-based facility that tests the success of technologies designed to prevent the spread of invasive species through ships’ ballast water.

Matt TenEyck is director of the university’s Lake Superior Research Institute. He told Wisconsin Public Radio that the treatments that show promise in the lab on Montreal Pier in Superior are then tested in the harbor to see how they perform in Great Lakes water conditions.

Superior Mayor Jim Paine says the facility is vital for the protection of the health of the Great Lakes.

Researcher Kelsey Prihoda says three treatment technologies are currently being tested in the lab. Prihoda says vessel owners and operators are more likely to have confidence in technologies that have undergone large-scale controlled land testing.