Reflecting Pool Algae and Peeling Liner Prompt Arrests, Drainage

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool now draws crowds to photograph green water and floating blue fragments weeks before the nation’s 250th anniversary. A $14.7 million renovation completed in early June applied an “American flag blue” polyurea liner chosen by President Trump, yet algae bloomed rapidly and sections of the coating detached. DC Water issued a permit Monday to drain the 2,030-foot pool again for repairs under warranty.

Trump told reporters that vandals used a knife to create a 250- to 350-foot slit and may have added fertilizer, citing five arrests and five additional investigations by U.S. Park Police. The same day he posted that anyone damaging federal monuments faces up to ten years in prison. Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, 67, told the Associated Press he was held five hours after touching a loose piece of liner; Park Police have not released formal charges or a full arrest count.

The pool has required repeated interventions since the 1920s. A 2012 structural rehabilitation addressed leaks and pipes at roughly $34 million, according to Associated Press records. The current project used a sole-source award to Atlantic Industrial Coatings because the liner matched specifications already in use at other federal sites; the company has stated the affected areas represent a small fraction of the seven-acre site. National Park Service crews applied hydrogen peroxide to control algae before the liner problems appeared. Trump also claimed prior administrations spent $147 million without success; the AP found no such figure and confirmed the Obama-era work ended in 2012.

National Guard troops and Park Police now patrol the site. Trump separately threatened legal action against ABC News for its coverage and repeated earlier cost estimates of roughly $16 million for the latest work. Visitors continue to photograph the water while the pool remains open to the public.