The liner of Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor, a National Park Service official has revealed – the first official account of damage that President Donald Trump blamed on vandals.
In a court filing on Thursday, Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service, said US Park Police responded to a report on 9 June of an incident involving the pool’s liner. The damage included “a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material”, Lands wrote. About 70 fence post tops were thrown into the pool.
“National Park Service says Reflecting Pool liner was cut with knife or razor, after Trump blamed vandals for major damage.”
Trump had earlier claimed “a 300-foot-long gash” had been carved into the bottom and that chemicals had been illegally placed in the water, promising evidence in court. The filing, part of a lawsuit by a nonprofit seeking to stop the Trump administration’s work, does not say when the damage occurred or identify anyone involved.
Five people have been arrested for vandalism in connection with the pool, and five others issued federal citations, US Park Police said.
The pool, built in the 1920s and stretching 2,030ft between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, has long suffered leaks, structural deterioration and algae. Trump’s $14 million renovation began in April, under his request, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The pool was drained and a tinted polyurea liner installed.
But problems emerged almost immediately: the water turned green with algae blooms, dead ducks were recovered, and blue material began peeling from the bottom. Now the National Park Service plans to drain the pool again after Independence Day on 4 July to “conduct repairs, including assessments and repairing any damage to the lining”.
A construction company that worked on an earlier $34 million renovation under the Obama administration in 2010 declined to take part in Trump’s project because the plans were “unfeasible”, according to CNN. New Jersey firm Sika Corporation was approached in March but the July 4 deadline and demand that the pool floor be blue rendered the job impossible, two employees told the network. One employee said the company’s suggested fix was “complicated and lengthy, not fitting the contractor’s tight timeline of just a few months turnaround”. Sika did not respond to questions from CNN.
Rhino Linings, which supplied the spray-on lining for the current renovation, has said the work will not be complete in time for the 4 July celebrations, its vice president told Politico.
The National Park Service’s disclosure comes as scrutiny mounts over a rushed project that has so far failed to deliver a pool fit for the nation’s birthday.