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To some Kansas University students, Potter Lake is nasty, smelly and unattractive.

“It has questionable things in it,” said John Kenny, a Leavenworth senior.

The peaceful lake near Memorial Stadium has blooms of algae floating on top of it, and it’s difficult to see through the murky water.

“Very gross, but also very interesting,” said England Porter, an Independence junior.

Kenny and Porter head the Potter Lake Project, a student effort to revive the lake. The group worked with the Kansas Biological Survey on Wednesday to find out what lurks in the lake. They loaded a fishing boat with PVC pipe, poles and a computer before heading out on the lake to take measurements.

“It may be half-filled with mud,” Kansas Biological Survey associate director Jerry deNoyelles said during a briefing with students. “The mud may be deeper than the water is.”

While gathering samples of thick sediment at the bottom of the lake, deNoyelles said the group found a 3-inch layer of road gravel in at least one part of the lake. After testing the samples, they’ll discover whether anything hazardous is in the lake. Tests will be for things like pesticides, heavy metals and petroleum products, said Mark Jakubauskas, a Kansas Biological Survey research professor.

“It catches everything we throw into it,” he said. “Runoff from cars, runoff from laboratories, fertilizer, pesticides — everything under the sun could be in this lake.”

Collecting samples is a preliminary step in the students’ efforts to eventually restore the lake, created about 100 years ago, said Kenny, 22. Barring any obstacles, they hope to make progress by the end of the next academic year.

“I want to make Potter Lake more enjoyable for future students,” he said. “Try to make it more pleasing to the eye and an easier spot to come and hang out.”

Some alumni connect with a cleaner-looking Potter Lake. Charlie Pohl, of Lawrence, remembers students routinely swimming in the lake when he attended KU in the 1960s.

“No moss, no lily pads, just water,” he said, while making his way by the lake.

Part of the restoration efforts might include cleaning out the bottom of the lake, which was last dredged in 1958, Kenny said.

It’s a project Chancellor Robert Hemenway is “very interested” in, deNoyelles told the students at the edge of the lake.

“If funds were allocated to clean up Potter Lake, this could really turn into a gem for the campus,” Jakubauskas said.