The newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC has turned green with algae just days after being refilled, prompting the Trump administration to blame former President Barack Obama for the problem.
President Donald Trump ordered the revamp last year, claiming the pool had been left in poor condition by President Joe Biden. But the familiar green algae, which has plagued the pool for decades, returned within days of the $14 million renovation being completed.
“Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turns green with algae days after $14m renovation, Trump administration blames Obama.”
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior hit out at the Obama administration in a statement obtained by the New York Post, saying: “The nanobubbler technology has successfully destroyed the algae bloom that has plagued every pool reopening since 1922, most infamously, the Obama pool reopening that resulted in massive algae clumps taking over the pool’s surface.”
The spokesperson added: “Now, due to deploying the advanced nanobubbler technology, the algae is dead and being vacuumed up as we speak.” They claimed the National Park Service was “actually maintaining” the pool “versus previous administrations.”
Federal contracting records show the Trump administration spent $1.7 million on an upgraded ozone nanobubbler filtration system, designed to disperse oxygen bubbles and disrupt algae’s food supply. Communications director Katie Martin told CNN the algae had been sitting dormant for eight weeks during construction and described its return as “part of the normal start-up process.”
The Obama administration spent at least $34 million on a two‑year reconstruction project that ended in 2012, aimed at addressing stagnant water and leaks. Pipes under the National Mall bring water to a filtration plant but often leak; the Department of the Interior plans to repair them in the fall. Before the latest renovations, the pool leaked around 16 million gallons of water every year, according to the Interior Department.
Trump touted the revamped pool in a Truth Social post on Monday as part of “tribute to America” celebrations planned for July 4. Whether the nanobubblers will keep the water clear for the holiday remains to be seen.