price. By 1905, the needed land was purchased and the work of clearing the area and constructing the bridges and dam began. Carnegie attended the official opening ceremony on December 5, 1906, arriving by train with dozens of friends. He was met by a group including university president Woodrow Wilson. Carnegie and Wilson led an academic procession into Alexander Hall, where Carnegie was greeted enthusiastically by attending students (who had been given the day off). At one point, a group of students began to sing: Carnegie returned to Princeton the following spring to attend the lake's first regatta. Wilson attempted to secure a second donation from Carnegie, who answered, "I have already given you a lake." Wilson's reported reply was, "We needed bread and you gave us cake." Albert Einstein sailed often on Lake Carnegie during his years in Princeton which began in 1933. Environmental problems Due to its initially shallow depth, flooding and siltation (carried by Stony Brook) became problems for the area surrounding Carnegie Lake. Another problem was the rapid deposit of sewage carried by the Millstone River from nearby towns, where expansion of treatment facilities had not kept pace with rapid population growth. The lake has been dredged three times since its opening—first in 1927, in the late 1930s, and most recently in 1971. The 1971 dredging gave the lake a uniform depth of nine feet at a distance of 35 feet from the shoreline. In its 2002 report on water quality, the United States Environmental Protection Agency rated Lake Carnegie as "impaired." This status indicates that the lake cannot support one or more of its designated uses. The sources of this nonpoint source pollution are varied—litter, chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), automotive waste (oil and gas), and goose droppings have all contributed to the decline in water quality. Unsafe levels of mercury in the lake have led to an advisory on fish consumption. A number of local volunteer groups have undertaken efforts to improve the quality of water in Lake Carnegie and surrounding waterways. These efforts include litter removal, water sample testing, and educational programs. Gallery References External links Video profile of the US Olympic rowing team's base in Princeton and on Lake Carnegie Historic districts in Princeton, New Jersey Bodies of water of Mercer County, New Jersey Bodies of water of Middlesex County, New Jersey Reservoirs in New Jersey Princeton University Rowing venues in the United