Asked whether vandalism — not faulty materials — caused the damage, Burgum insisted box cutters were used and said photographs could prove a 300- to 350-foot gash.
The exchange centered on a politically sensitive Trump-backed project that cost about $14 million, though earlier reports put the repair bill at $16 million after overruns.
Burgum has repeatedly blamed vandals for the failure, while critics have cast the pool overhaul as a costly vanity project tied to the administration's 250th-anniversary push.