Trump Administration Orders 12-Hour Lincoln Pool Cleanup as $14 Million Renovation Turns Green
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jun 18
Trump Administration Orders 12-Hour Lincoln Pool Cleanup as $14 Million Renovation Turns Green
2 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jun 18
Summary
National Park Service staff were told in an internal email to treat the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cleanup as a “regional and national priority” and work 12-hour shifts before July 4.
The urgent push followed algae overtaking the newly resurfaced 2,000-foot pool days after completion of Trump’s roughly $14 million renovation, which was meant to make the water appear “American flag blue.”
Interior confirmed reinforcements and said crews are scrubbing, pumping out water and using nanobubble ozone technology; workers were also seen adding hydrogen peroxide, which officials called milder than chlorine.
Satellite analysis cited by The Washington Post found algae levels a week after reopening were higher than in any June image since 2021 and among the highest readings in the past two years.
The episode revives a long-running algae problem at the Reflecting Pool even as the White House says the new lining will permanently seal leaks that had wasted 16 million gallons a year.