Reflecting Pool to be drained after algae and peeling paint

Washington’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is set to be drained again after bright green algae and peeling paint appeared just weeks after a costly renovation championed by President Donald Trump, who blamed the problems on “vandals.”

DC Water issued a permit Monday to drain the pool, Reuters reported. The repair company has said it will fix the rectangular structure under its warranty, according to the BBC.

Trump said Monday that the pool “has been given a 300 foot long gash” and accused someone of putting fertilizer in the water. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he later said someone had cut a slit he now believed was 350 feet long and that “somebody said they might have put fertiliser there,” causing algae to form.

“I can’t help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up,” Trump said. He told reporters at another point: “It’s not a lot of damage, but we’ll probably have to let the water out and refix it. They went in there with a knife.”

Five people have been arrested for vandalism in connection with the Reflecting Pool, and five others were issued federal citations, according to the U.S. Park Police, the BBC reported. The Guardian reported that Trump has not provided evidence for his claims that vandalism caused the algae blooms and peeling paint, and that when pressed he told reporters to call the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. The Guardian said neither agency responded immediately to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Park Police.

The Reflecting Pool, built in the 1920s, stretches 2,030 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It has long faced leaks, structural deterioration, faulty pipes, algae growth and bird droppings.

The pool was last fully drained in April for the Trump-backed renovation and refilled early this month. Trump priced the work at about $16 million, the BBC reported, while The Guardian described it as a $14 million renovation. The Guardian reported that Trump sought to make the pool “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, including by painting the bottom a dark navy shade officially called “Old Glory Blue.”

According to The Guardian, Trump awarded a no-bid contract to a company he said had previously worked on swimming pools at one of his golf clubs. Within days of the project’s completion, the water began turning green from algae in the standing water, and the paint coating started to detach, The Guardian reported.

National Park Service staff have poured hydrogen peroxide into the water in recent days to try to remove the algae, the BBC reported. Sections of paint have also been peeling off and floating to the surface, where visitors have been scooping them out.

Trump on Monday echoed a warning from U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, who vowed to aggressively prosecute anyone found to have damaged the pool. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote: “Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!”

Trump also threatened legal action against ABC News over its reporting on the pool. He said his administration was preparing lawsuits against the network for alleged inaccurate reporting and that any proceeds would go to the U.S. Treasury.

ABC “failed to report that their close ‘friends,’ Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked,” Trump wrote. “I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing. It was also a much bigger job than originally envisioned, including the outer areas and sidewalks.”

The BBC said it contacted DC Water, the National Park Service and ABC News for comment.