President Donald Trump promised a renovated Reflecting Pool that would be “American Flag Blue.” But after algae turned the water green, he’s admitting the project needs further repairs and the pool will have to be drained.
It’s the latest turn in a drama-filled renovation for an iconic Washington landmark. Among all of Trump’s various D.C. renovation or construction projects, his administration’s work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has drawn particular curiosity and scorn.
Situated between monuments to America’s first and 16th presidents, the Reflecting Pool has long had problems. Since its 1922 completion, the pool has leaked water and attracted algae. Trump promised to fix it once and for all—quicker and cheaper than his Democratic predecessors could ever do.
That promise has resulted in a comedy of errors that involve green water, an arrest, and ongoing renovations. Some say the debacle has become a crystal clear metaphor of his presidency.
Here’s how we got here.
Trump announces renovations
In a post on his social network on April 9, Trump said he was renovating the Reflecting Pool.
“We were told it was going to take YEARS to do this job, and it will take a fraction of that time, at a fraction of the cost,” he wrote. “And it will be much more beautiful than the day it was built!
Renovations begin
At an Oval Office meeting on April 23, Trump said renovations had begun, and crews were spotted applying a blue material to the emptied Reflecting Pool basin. “I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” Trump said.
Trump surveys project
Trump visited the Reflecting Pool himself on May 7, accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, as his motorcade drove across the emptied basin in an SUV.
“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump said.
A no-bid contract to a Mar-a-Lago neighbor
The New York Times reported on May 8 that the Trump administration gave a $6.9 million no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company that had never had a federal contract before. The administration also gave a contract to a company called Greenwater Services to upgrade the Reflecting Pool’s water-purification system.
Group files suit over the renovation
The D.C.-based nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 11, accusing the Trump administration of violating federal law.
Renovations completed
Trump said on June 4 that renovations were done and the Reflecting Pool would be refilled with water. It was refilled by June 9.
The Reflecting Pool begins turning green
One day after being refilled, on June 10, the pool began turning green, which the Interior Department blamed on “residual algae from the supply lines.”
Crews begin cleaning the Reflecting Pool
After a few days, the algae appeared to be more than just residual. The Department of the Interior told news outlets, including WUSA and Reuters, on June 16 that it had deployed crews with “high-tech nanobubble ozone technology” as well as hydrogen peroxide to “keep the water in the Reflecting Pool not only crystal clear but also clean.”
The pool begins peeling
CNN noticed blue material peeling from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool on June 19. Over the Juneteenth holiday weekend, material from the renovation was visible from the surface.
On its own, the Reflecting Pool is a popular summer tourist destination, but deteriorating conditions there only attracted more people, including tourists, locals, protesters, and the press.
An arrest takes place
Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn was arrested and detained for five hours when he visited on June 19. Though he was arrested for destruction of government property, Hearn said he simply touched a piece of the peeling material.
Trump says repairs on Reflecting Pool to begin immediately
Trump wrote in a social media post on June 21 that the Reflecting Pool would have to be drained and repaired, and he claimed without evidence that it had been vandalized.
“Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote.
The cost of the project has now grown to $14.65 million, per federal contract data.
