The Reflecting Pool has had a rough week. Just after a $14 million refurbishment, the water turned green from algae, and chunks of blue material were seen peeling off the bottom.
Now, President Donald Trump is chalking up the problems to “vandalism.”
“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, D.C.,” the president wrote on Truth Social Friday evening. “However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool.”
He claimed that unnamed individuals have “done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed” in an attempt to “destroy and demean our beautiful work.”
The 80-year-old Republican then singled out Jonathan Karl, an ABC News reporter, who he said “was seen sticking his hand into the Pool, and trying to rip the rubber off of the surface.” In a broadcast segment on Friday, Karl reached into the shallow pool and grabbed a chunk of floating material.
Trump said that law enforcement is “actively investigating.” He added: “It’s a shame that the Radical Left Lunatics, most likely Dumocats, who have spent their lives trying to ruin our Country, are free to do so.”
Still, the president said the algae is mostly gone and that the damaged surface will be fixed in the coming days.
The pool, located in front of the Lincoln Memorial, recently underwent a weekslong renovation after Trump derided it as "filthy" and in desperate need of repair. Last month, workers drained the 2,000-foot-long basin and resurfaced it with "American flag blue" paint.
Trump said it would cost about $2 million, but federal records indicate the actual price tag was over $14 million.
When the work was completed and the pool was refilled earlier this month, Trump praised the renovation, writing on Truth Social: “It was originally opened in 1922, but never functioned properly — now it does!” He posted numerous photos of the pool and accused his Democratic predecessors of letting it fall into neglect.
However, within days, problems began to arise. Visitors and photographers noticed the water turning a distinct shade of green, with clumps of algae dotting the surface.
The pool has had more algae in it than at any recorded point in the month of June for at least five years, according to an analysis from The Washington Post.
In response, workers clad in neon vests were seen wading into the pool this week to gather algae, while others dumped hydrogen peroxide into the water to kill it. A spokesperson for the Interior Department previously told The Independent that the chemical was a “milder treatment than chlorine,” which has “no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”
They added that the department is also deploying nanobubble ozone technology to blitz the algae.
“This technology is actively killing algae, pathogens (e.g., E. coli), and contaminants that have long plagued the Reflecting Pool since 1922, most infamously, the Obama pool reopening that resulted in massive algae clumps taking over the pool’s surface following years of construction that cost,” the spokesperson said.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that the administration had awarded a $1.7 million no-bid contract to an Ohio company to install a water purification system at the pool. The firm, which had only ever received one other federal contract, is owned by a longtime Trump donor, who owns property next to the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
In addition to the algae, which turned the once-crystal-clear water into a swampy green, parts of the pool's new surface coating have also begun to peel off.
The hydrogen peroxide used to pulverize algae may be the culprit, according to CNN. The outlet, which used a swimming pool store to test the water, reported that the bleach raised phosphate levels in the pool “far higher than what is recommended to keep algae at bay.”
The administration has labeled cleaning up the pool a "regional and national priority" ahead of July 4, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
