photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Students cheer as the KJHK staff cardboard boat makes its way toward the finish line on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

Potter Lake — the manmade pond just down the hill from KU’s main campus — has been undergoing a major restoration since last year, which has involved dredging and other initiatives to improve the pond’s ecosystem and appearance. The $1.2 million project’s goal was to restore Potter Lake closer to its original depth of 18 feet and to rebuild a portion of the wall that runs along the edge of the water. A number of environmental classes at KU have also planted hundreds of native plants near the pond, as the Journal-World has reported.

On Friday, the university celebrated the pond’s renewal with a ceremony and a cardboard boat regatta.

Potter Lake was created in 1910, when the Kansas Board of Regents decided to construct a reservoir on the north side of campus to be used as a water source in case of fire. The two-acre lake was named Potter Lake for state Sen. T.M. Potter, and until 1927, when Lawrence built a public pool, it served as a swimming hole.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

KU landscape architect Jeffrey Preuss answers visitors’ questions about Potter Lake at the Potter Lake celebration on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Students carry their boats to the starting point of the cardboard boat regatta at Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Students line up along Potter Lake for the cardboard boat regatta on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Students gather beside Potter Lake for the cardboard boat regatta on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Cardboard boats sit beside Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Students line up for the cardboard boat regatta beside Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

An organizer reads the rules of the cardboard boat regatta at Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A contestant in the cardboard boat regatta splashes into the water at Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A participant in the cardboard boat regatta paddles across Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A contestant makes his way to the finish line of the cardboard boat regatta on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A broken cardboard boat on the edge of Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A team poses with their cardboard boat by Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A contestant in the cardboard boat regatta falls into Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A contestant in the cardboard boat regatta falls into Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A cardboard boat takes a dip into Potter Lake on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A crowd lines the edge of Potter Lake to watch the cardboard boat regatta on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.