Algae returns to Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after $14.2M overhaul
What's new: The cleanup came days after a no-bid renovation added a dark blue coating and a new water-treatment system.
Algae returned to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool days after the Trump administration finished a $14.2 million repair project meant to stop leaks and control blooms before the nation’s 250th birthday. Green patches appeared Sunday and Monday after several hot, humid days, tinting parts of the pool despite the newly installed treatment system. Interior Department spokeswoman Katie Martin said the algae was dead and workers were vacuuming it out. The project used no-bid contracts for Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings and Ohio-based Greenwater Services, while Pearl Purity Water Solutions, a Maryland contractor that has treated the pool since 2021, also worked at the site.