Trump's $14 Million Lincoln Memorial Pool Renovation Has an Algae Problem

The Pool Is Green. The Bill Is $14 Million.

President Trump ordered the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovated in April, calling the water "filthy" and "disgusting." The National Park Service then awarded no-bid contracts to resurface the 2,030-foot-long basin and repaint the bottom "American flag blue" ahead of July 4th celebrations.

The total cost to taxpayers has exceeded $14 million, according to NPR's Scott Simon.

The pool was refilled earlier this month. It has since turned green.

What Scientists Say

Algae experts were not surprised.

Rosalina Stancheva Christova, a professor of aquatic ecology at George Mason University in Virginia, took water samples from the pool on Tuesday, June 17. She confirmed the algae belongs to the genus Desmodesmus, which she said is "growing in excessive amounts" but is NOT toxic or harmful to humans.

Christova told NPR Illinois the reflecting pool provides "excellent conditions" for algae growth: shallow, stagnant water, strong sunlight, and zero shade. She also noted that last month's renovations may have affected the balance of nutrients in the pool, potentially accelerating the algae blooms.

Steve Goodale, a Canadian swimming pool specialist who goes by "Swimming Pool Steve" online, identified the problem as textbook. "It's called 'New Pond Syndrome,'" Goodale said. "It's a known thing that happens when you take a natural, clear body of water like this that sits in an open air environment and you try to start it up, very often you end up with green water almost immediately."

Goodale noted the pool's sheer size — roughly 338,000 square feet of surface area — slowed the bloom by a matter of days, not weeks. He also pointed to the new, darker interior surface as a contributing factor: "It is going to result in water that's warmer, and that ultimately is going to lead to more prolific algae growth."

Algae has been a problem in the reflecting pool since it was first filled in 1923. Warm, still, sunlit water in a Washington summer is basically a petri dish.

The Administration's Response

The Interior Department is NOT conceding failure. Interior spokesperson Kate Martin told NPR this week: "President Donald J. Trump is an expert builder who has fixed the reflecting pool for good, unlike the failed and extremely costly attempt by Obama and Biden."

The department says workers have deployed "a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system" to address the algae bloom. Workers are also pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to kill the algae, which the Interior Department describes as a "milder treatment than chlorine."

For context, the "Obama and Biden" reference is to a major renovation during President Obama's first term that addressed the pool's structural problems — specifically that it was sinking — and added a filtration system. That project also ran into algae issues; the pool had to be drained, refilled, and recalibrated after reopening in 2012.

Algae management at the reflecting pool has been a persistent failure across administrations, not a problem uniquely created or uniquely solved by any one president.

How Bad Is It, Exactly?

A University of Virginia satellite analysis commissioned by the Washington Post found more algae in the reflecting pool this month than at any other point in the past five years, according to NPR's reporting. The ozone nanobubbler system's effectiveness remains to be seen before July 4th.

The Strongest Defense of the Project

Algae is a known, recurring problem at this specific location regardless of what any contractor does with the basin coating or filtration. Christova herself said it "could happen every single summer." A pool this size, this shallow, this exposed to D.C. summer sun will grow algae. That was true in 1923, true during Obama's renovation, and true today.

The legitimate question is not whether algae appeared, but whether $14 million and a no-bid contract process were the right tools for a job that specialists like Goodale say requires ongoing chemical treatment, not a one-time resurfacing.

The No-Bid Contract Issue

The procurement process deserves scrutiny independent of the algae outcome. Trump told reporters he had "a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools" before the National Park Service issued no-bid contracts, according to both NPR and WWNO's reporting. No-bid contracts bypass competitive pricing. On a $14 million public works project at a national landmark, that's a legitimate transparency concern, regardless of party.

What Happens Next

The Interior Department has not provided before-and-after data on water quality from the nanobubbler system. July 4th is approaching. Whether the pool looks "American flag blue" or algae green when the cameras roll for the celebration is the specific, sourced question that remains genuinely unanswered.