The Interior Department is clapping back on reports about the algae seen in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this week after the Trump administration overhauled the facility, calling the spotted algae “residual.”
Days after President Donald Trump declared his project to revamp the reflecting pool on the National Mall “complete,” Washingtonians and local media spotted algae blooming in the made-over pool. The problem has plagued the pool for years, as direct sunlight exposure and surrounding wildlife have caused a perfect storm for the buildup of the organisms.
But Trump promised to beautify the water in what he had once called the “absolutely filthy” pool. The Interior Department told the Washington Examiner in a statement that the Trump administration is currently removing the “residual” algae and using devices called “nanobubblers” to sustain an algae-free pool.
“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,” the department spokesperson said. “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 [former Presidents Barack] Obama and [Joe] Biden.”
The spokesperson said the Trump administration’s National Park Service purchased a nanobubbler, a “state-of-the-art” ozone filtration system to maintain the pool.
The buzz about algae growth in the reflecting pool came after several reports, including one from the Washington Post, detailed large spots of growth in the pool throughout the week after Trump declared the multimillion-dollar project complete. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Washington Examiner that “hit pieces like this are exactly why trust in the media is at an all-time low.”
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“Activist Washington Post reporters suffering from crippling Trump Derangement Syndrome apparently don’t know that ‘cleanup’ typically follows construction on a 2,030-foot pool,” Rogers said. “President Trump used his expertise to deliver exquisite upgrades to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that Americans will enjoy for years to come. The public supports these long-overdue improvements to our nation’s capital.”
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cleanup comes as one of several beautification projects the Trump administration has pursued ahead of America’s 250th birthday celebrations in Washington, D.C. The administration has also completed several smaller projects, such as repairing over 20 fountains and refurbishing around 30 statues and monuments throughout the district.