Days after a $14 million renovation project, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which President Donald Trump envisioned as an "American flag blue" expanse, succumbed to an algal bloom, turning parts of it chartreuse and green.
Trump announced the project in April, stating he was inspired by a German friend's complaints about the pool being dark and disgusting. Contracts worth at least $14.8 million were awarded for the project to paint the more than 2,000-foot-long pool with a dark blue waterproofing material and fix leaks. The administration bypassed competitive bidding, citing urgency to complete the work by Independence Day, America's 250th birthday.
The National Park Service (NPS) and contractors deployed chemicals, ozone nanobubbles, and even used swimming pool-type vacuum cleaners to combat the algae. The Department of the Interior (DOI) claimed that "advanced nanobubbler technology" had "successfully destroyed the algae" and that it was being vacuumed up.
However, a pool renovation expert, Steve Goodale, suggested that the darker blue paint might exacerbate the algae problem by absorbing more sunlight and increasing water temperature, making the pool more susceptible to blooms. He also noted that residual algae in the pipes was unlikely the primary cause, but rather new algae growth in stagnant water during refilling. The Reflecting Pool, which holds about 6.5 million gallons of water, has a history of algae issues, with a previous $34 million renovation in 2012 also experiencing subsequent algae growth.
