Donald Trump’s $14.2 million renovation project for the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been challenged by algae.
Just days after its completion, the water in the reflecting pool turned green again. At the outset, Trump wanted the water to be “American flag blue” in the run up to the nation’s 250th birthday. But, nature, in this case, refuses to be defeated.
The reflecting pool is the site where Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I have a dream” speech took place. When MAGA decided to hand Trump another term, interior decorating rated high on his list of priorities, including a ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial project.
A contract was given to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings to waterproof and repaint the site. The company worked on the swimming pool at one of Trump’s golf clubs. The contract raised eyebrows because it was a no-bid contract.
The administration said that the remaining algae would be cleared after the renovation, but the organisms have multiplied as the country heads into the warmer summer months. Earlier in the week, the National Park Service used skimmers to try to return the water to the target blue. But, by Tuesday, they were turning to peroxide in an attempt to kill the algae.
The Department of the Interior announced that there would be a treatment system installed using “nanobubbler technology,” which the department claims will eradicate the problem and offered a confounding thank you to Trump.
“The nanobubbler technology has successfully destroyed the algae bloom that has plagued every pool reopening since 1922,” a spokesperson told the Guardian on Tuesday. “Now, due to deploying the advanced nanobubbler technology, the algae is dead and being vacuumed up as we speak,” the spokesperson added. “We thank President Trump for fixing the reflecting pool for good.”
Trump initially gave the project a $1.8 million price tag.
