Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Turns Green After $14.7 Million Renovation

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., has turned a mossy green color due to algae growth just weeks after the completion of a $14.7 million renovation project intended to give the pool an "American blue" hue.

On June 19, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social that the pool had been sabotaged by "radical left lunatics." He said the algae had been 75% treated and would soon be fully resolved.

However, Trump provided no evidence for the sabotage claim, including that someone had poured corrosive chemicals into the pool. Environmental experts say algae blooms at this time of year are common.

Current State of the Pool

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was built in 1922, adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. The pool's bottom had recently been repainted blue, which Trump called "American flag blue." On June 6, he declared the renovation project complete.

But just over a week later, the blue paint began to peel, with some flakes floating on the surface, and algae covered the pool. Starting June 16, National Park Service staff began pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool to kill the algae. An Interior Department spokesperson said the pool was also being treated with "nano-bubble ozone technology" to eliminate algae, E. coli bacteria, and other contaminants.

Sabotage Allegations

On June 19, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Just like three days ago, they destroyed the lawn outside the pool, they also did everything to ruin the newly installed interior surface." The next day, he announced that the National Park Police had arrested several people.

One of those arrested was David Hearn, 67, a former Olympic rower, who stopped by the pool to inspect the peeling new paint. He said he only touched a piece of paint still attached to the pool wall and withdrew immediately upon request by a park ranger. Nevertheless, he was detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released.

Expert Explanation

Professor Rosalina Stancheva Christova, an aquatic ecology expert at George Mason University in Virginia, who sampled the pool water on June 17, said the algae are "growing in excessive amounts" but are not toxic. She noted that this green algae appears throughout the region at this time of year. The pool's shallow, stagnant water and abundant sunlight create "ideal conditions" for algae growth, and the renovation has further accelerated the process.

Cost and Contracts

The $14.7 million contract to clean and paint the pool was awarded by the federal government to Atlantic Industrial Coatings (New Canton, Virginia) on April 3 without competitive bidding, according to the New York Times. Another no-bid contract was awarded to Greenwater Services (Brookfield, Ohio) to install the pool's water filtration system earlier this spring. That company is owned by JJ Cafaro Investment Trust, led by John J. Cafaro, a longtime Trump supporter. Cafaro explained the no-bid contract by saying, "There is no one else in the world who can do what we do."

Other Trump Projects

Since the start of his second term, Trump has announced several renovation projects in Washington. He is building a new Ballroom at the White House with an estimated budget of $400 million from private donors and technology corporations. He also plans to construct an "Independence Arch" across the Potomac River, 76 meters high—taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (50 meters)—funded by taxpayers.