The crisis surrounding the algae-infested Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is mounting as the National Park Service scrambles to address the problem before the upcoming July 4 celebrations.
The pool, which was renovated at a cost of around $13.1 million ahead of the 250th anniversary celebrations, started to turn green with algae less than 24 hours after the renovations were completed earlier this month.
“What you are seeing is residual algae from the supply lines, which have been sitting dormant for eight weeks while construction has been taking place,” a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told the Daily Beast at the time. “It’s part of the normal startup process. We are removing the algae, and the nanobubblers will maintain the pool and keep it algae-free.”
“President Donald J. Trump is an expert builder who has fixed the Reflecting Pool for good, unlike the failed and extremely costly attempt by Obama and Biden.”
A new report by Meidas News reveals that the government is now desperately seeking additional workers to help address the issue and has upgraded the operation to a “regional and national priority.”
An email addressed to National Park Service employees and reviewed by the outlet stated that officials were working on “critical pre-July 4th operational needs” and were seeking “additional personnel to assist immediately.”
Specifically, workers are needed to support “scrubbing and pump out operations” at the pool. They are being asked to work 12-hour shifts starting this week and continuing through the weekend.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
The algae bloom appeared within 24 hours of the end of renovation work earlier this month. Workers have already been deployed to vacuum algae from the pool and disperse hydrogen peroxide into the water, but the algae and resulting green tint to the water have remained.
The renovations were part of Trump’s preparations for the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations next month, and the president was eager to boast about the changes, including painting the pool “American Flag Blue.”
He was also incensed at the media coverage of his pet project, complaining on Truth Social at The Washington Post’s description of the renovations as a “paint job.”
“The Great Reflecting Pool, that stretches between The Lincoln Memorial and The Washington Monument, just opened to ‘rave reviews’ but, maliciously or not, some say, like The Washington Post, it was a ‘paint job.’ This was not a paint job,” Trump wrote.
“This was highly sophisticated material, industrial strength, that could last for 100 years, applied by very talented people, many of whom came from the Great State of Oklahoma, where I won 77 out of 77 Counties, THREE TIMES, the only President to ever do so,” he continued.
“The material is thick, strong, flexible, and has a natural, beautiful color, the dark blue of the American Flag!”
The president’s renovations were designed to resolve long-standing problems with the pool, which has experienced leaks for decades.
“There’ll be no leaks. There’ll be no anything. It’ll look gorgeous, beautiful,” Trump said in April. When first announcing the project, the president suggested that the cost would not exceed $2 million. Records indicated that the firm overseeing the renovations was actually paid $13.1 million, more than seven times Trump’s original estimate.
