Some of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool liner appears to be falling apart - ABC News
By: ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The "American flag blue" coating appears to be peeling away in some sections.
Cleaning up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been one of President Donald Trump's pet projects. In April, he said he would clean up the massive pool within a week and for about $1 million.
About three months -- and more than $15 million later -- the project looks to be in trouble.
Just Wednesday night, Trump's Department of Interior declared in a social media statement that "advanced nanobubbler technology" had "very effectively killed the algae" that has plagued the Reflecting Pool for years. "The Reflecting Pool water is crystal clear," the statement declared, but then continued, "our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting Pool -- just like the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf."
A piece of what appears to be the American Flag Blue liner recently installed at the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seen above the surface of the water on June 18, 2026.Elise Spenner/ABC News
When ABC News visited the Reflecting Pool Thursday afternoon, we found it filled with gunk and green algae-infused water. And a new problem has emerged; the "American flag blue" paint job appears to be falling apart -- some of it peeling away from the bottom of the pool.
ABC News has asked the Interior Department for comment about the peeling paint and reached out to the contractor that did the work, but they did not immediately comment.
Members of the National Park Service clean algae from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, June 18, 2026.Rahmat Gul/AP Photo
Algae bloomed late last week just days after the completion of the renovation, turning the pool from deep blue to green and murky. A DOI spokesperson told CNN in a statement that the algae was "residual" and came from reactivated supply lines.
DOI deployed both a hydrogen peroxide treatment and the nanobubble ozone technology, a spokesperson said, to rid the pool of algae blooms that have discolored the landmark and marred the rollout of the renovation project.
The nanobubble process releases tiny gas bubbles filled with ozone into the water, which helps to eliminate algae blooms.
The DOI spokesperson wrote that the hydrogen peroxide would have "no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment."
National Park Service employees and contractors use vacuums to remove green algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, June 18, 2026 in Washington.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Contracts to resurface the reflecting pool and replace its filtration system were awarded without going through a competitive bidding process, arguing the country's impending 250th anniversary celebrations created an "unusual and compelling urgency."
"[D]elaying the award long enough to conduct a competitive procurement would prevent the National Park Service from completing the work in time to reopen the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool for the Nation's 250th anniversary event series," the Department of the Interior said in contracting documents. "This delay would result in serious injury to the Government, including failure to meet statutory visitor-safety responsibilities and operational commitments for the 250th."
ABC News' Elise Spenner, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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Trump turned the reflecting pool into a swamp. The dark blue paint he wanted will not only prevent the reflections of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Momument, it caused the water temperature to rise creating excellent breeding conditions for the algae. And now, the blue paint is already peeling off. The Donald J. Trump Swamp is the perfect symbol for the fetid Trumpist regime.
It wont belong before Trump says he has never heard of the reflecting pool.
Exactly. First he will say it's all Obama's fault, and then that he never heard of it and knows nothing about it. He already claimed that it was because of Obama he needed to clean it up to begin with.
good thing the contractor was paid enough to redo his work 7 more times this summer ...
$14 million of that no bid contract was probably a kickback to trump ...
And black is white, and 2+2=5.
Is there anyone working for Trump who isn't a brain-dead idiot? Rhetorical question. We already know the answer.
Most incompetent administration in history.
No. They are competent. But just not in the things that we elected them for.
they've got political corruption down to a science ...
Yes. I would say that they are, by far, the most corrupt administration in US history.
Trump only hires the best people. How long did it take for the paint to fail on a shallow pool with 6,500,000 gallons of water? A week?
First of all I thought that a patriotic thing to do would be to load the pool with redfish:
whitefish
and bliuefish
But they're not algae eaters. However goldfish are algae eaters, so maybe besides having panda bears in the zoo to showcase China, maybe Xi Jinping could make a gift to America of a lot of goldfish to keep the reflecting pool clear. See how nice and blue this water is.
The pool is too shallow to support the koi year round. Then when they are in "season" they would probably be ravaged by predators like Herons, Egrets and Cormorants.
the Potomac is also home to a ridiculous number of snapping turtles who would appreciate the treat.
The Administration just wasted $15 million, Trump doesn't care because it isn't his money.
He doesn't care about leaving us a record debt, the worst MOU ever written or a nation inching closer to bankruptcy because he's delusional and close to the end of his lifetime with money to burn.
Our money.
Pity.
Called It!
Hilarious!!! Uday and Qusay cashing in.