Less than two weeks after the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reopened following a Trump-backed renovation, National Park Service crews were treating a widespread algae bloom that has turned large portions of the water green—using vacuuming and hydrogen perox
Less than two weeks after the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reopened from a Trump-backed renovation, the water turned green again.
By Tuesday. National Park Service crews were working to control what officials described as a widespread algae bloom—vacuuming algae from the pool and adding hydrogen peroxide. Interior Department officials defended the renovation’s purpose and design. insisting the project was meant to produce a cleaner. leak-free reflecting pool ahead of next month’s nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
The reopening came earlier this month, after renovations that included leak repairs, a new filtration system, and a blue liner promoted by President Donald Trump as a major upgrade to one of Washington’s most recognizable landmarks. But algae showed up almost immediately.
On Tuesday, crews used a mix of ozone-based filtration and hydrogen peroxide treatments to get the bloom under control. Interior officials said the algae had already been killed and that workers were focused on removing it from the water. An Interior Department spokesperson said. “Due to deploying the advanced nanobubbler technology. the algae is dead and being vacuumed up as we speak.”.
The administration has argued that the algae’s arrival traces back to water that sat stagnant inside supply lines during construction and was carried into the pool when it was refilled.
The filtration system—designed to address recurring contamination and biological growth—was a central element of the renovation. Interior officials said the ozone-injected nanobubbler technology was installed specifically to combat contaminants. pathogens and the algae problems that have repeatedly plagued the reflecting pool.
The algae may be new, but the problem is not.
During the Obama administration, the reflecting pool underwent a major restoration in 2012. That project cost roughly $34 million and was intended to address many of the same issues, including leaks, stagnant water and recurring algae growth. Within weeks of reopening, algae returned.
Several experts who discussed the reflecting pool’s recurring outbreaks told different outlets that the conditions that allow algae to thrive remain difficult to overcome in a shallow body of water exposed to summer heat. Brooks Barrett. an algae specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. said removing the current bloom will not eliminate the need for constant management. adding. “It would be an ongoing filtration management thing going on.”.
Former National Park Service regional director Kym Hall put it more bluntly, saying, “If this problem could have been easily solved or cheaply solved, somebody would have freaking done it.”
Trump treated the pool’s renewal as a personal priority this year, frequently criticizing its appearance and promising a cleaner, more attractive landmark before the July 4 celebrations.
The renovation’s cost ultimately climbed above $14 million, according to federal spending records cited by multiple news outlets. The work included repairs and filtration upgrades. and the administration coated the bottom of the pool with a liner that Trump called an “American Flag Blue” liner. In May, Trump said, “We made the surface as good as it can be,” and added, “No leaks. No problems.”.
The project also faced criticism from preservation groups, which objected to the change in color, and from watchdogs that questioned both the project’s cost and the contracting process.
Interior officials maintain that the work addressed long-standing structural issues and insist the new filtration system will produce cleaner water over time.
For now, though, the timeline is jarring: a high-profile reopening, a quick return of algae, and crews back at work—vacuum pumps and hydrogen peroxide in hand—at a landmark that was supposed to be shining through the nation’s biggest birthday milestone next month.
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool algae bloom National Park Service hydrogen peroxide ozone nanobubbler technology Interior Department Trump renovation July 4 250th birthday celebrations filtration system blue liner