Trump's $14M Reflecting Pool Project Couldn't Stop Algae From Blooming In The DC Heat

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Jun 13th, 2026, 7:47 pm


President Donald Trump’s $14 million Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation couldn’t stop algae from blooming in the D.C. heat and turning the water a murky shade of green once again.

The unsightly hue plagued the pool just in time for an estimated 125,000 people to descend on Washington for Trump’s “Freedom 250” UFC fights on the White House lawn for his birthday on Sunday — despite work crews spreading chlorine pellets to try to deter algae growth. The Washington Post reported that the bloom “expanded between Wednesday and Thursday amid wet and warm weather.”

Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, said in a statement, “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. 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.”

Whether the pool remains algae-free remains to be seen, however.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trumps-14m-reflecting-pool-project-couldnt-stop-algae-from-blooming-in-the-dc-heat/

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Anyone who has had a freshwater fish tank, even with chlorination, filtration, and some amount of circulation, will deal with periodic algae formation. Water features with strong circulation like fountains, have a better chance of being algse-free or with minimal amounts. Water + warmth + light = plant growth (particularly when nutrients from leaf and other organic debris is present).

The reflecting pool is NOT a swimming pool, with large amounts of chlorine, continual pH adjustments, and active circulation with filtration. On the other hand, too much water agitation defeats the conditions for optimal reflection.

[Norrrm]

1. An 'expert' might know to clean the pipes. An 'expert' might know to pick a color that reflects heat more than absorbs h

An 'expert' might know to clean the pipes. An 'expert' might know to pick a color that reflects heat more than absorbs heat.

[Farmer-Rick]

32. Funny, I have no problems with

Algae in my animal waterers unless they are exposed to sunlight. I'm no expert but algae's green color is due to photosynthesizing light to survive. I actually make a point of storing my water in dark tanks near the waterers to keep the algae from growing so rapidly. Maybe my algae is different?

So, how does algae build up inside dark pipes? It has no light.

[mwb970]

2. trump thought he was stronger than algae.

[Vinca]

3. ROFL - the king has lost the scum wars.

Last edited Sun Jun 14, 2026, 09:11 AM - Edit history (1)

[BumRushDaShow]

4. It's the embryonic stage of the birth of the newest swamp

created by the true swamp creatures - the GOP.

[calimary]

49. Well, now it can be told!

[BumRushDaShow]

50. We are witnessing live

"The Birth of a Swamp"

This will be next -

[calimary]

53. How did you manage to catch the Donald rising out of that swamp?

[BumRushDaShow]

54. Someone had a livestream!

[yardwork]

21. I love this post.

[Maeve]

31. The algae can out-think him!

[twodogsbarking]

5. Is the swamp drained yet?

[IronLionZion]

6. Oh yeah, but it's longer than some skyscrapers are tall, so take that

[Chemical Bill]

7. All the copper sulfate in the world...

wouldn't be enough to get rid of the scum in DC.

[chouchou]

8. I'll need to change my opinion about Donald Trump from..

"Everything he touches turns to shit" ..to "Everything he touches turns to Algae"

(It's not an improvement)

[azureblue]

9. ever wonder why pools

are light colored? To slow down the bottom from heating up and helping algae growth.. Duh..

[paleotn]

10. They really think 125K are going to show up for that BS?

Or visit the algae stained reflecting pool? Soon to be chocked by pond scum. A fitting indictment of the scum regime.

[usaf-vet]

11. It was NEVER ABOUT FIXING the reflection pond, it was for this project and all of Trump's no-bid contracts....

..... IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE KICKBACK TO TRUMP! He does nothing to make life better for the millions of Americans.

[2na fisherman]

13. Trump's Business Model

He gets contractors to pay him a large upfront kickback on the grossly inflated cost of the contract and then stalls the payment to the contractor and the contractor cannot complain too loudly because he is part of the fraudulent deal. Trump may end up not paying the contractor at all or just paying them pennies on the dollar. He tangles the contractors up in court for years never settling the full amount of his debt.

[usaf-vet]

14. Exactly !!! Well said!

[melm00se]

16. Trump cut his teeth

and learned his trade in the era where the mafia controlled the "Concrete Club".

[Bengus81]

17. He'll drag out a payment to that idiot as long as possible and then send him

20%. The wait another year and send him another 20%. If he'd go to court the Judge would state that Trump is trying to get you paid off,he did send you 40% so basically stop bitching. Trump controls the Treasury just like his own bank account.

With that it's over, Trump stole 60% of that $14M. He played that game with Casino contractors.

[popsdenver]

26. As one of Trump's contractors

who works for Trump's Golf Courses, I wonder if the government will pay him 13 MILLION for his work, (ludicrous amount) and expect the contractor to give Trump cut rates on any future work on his Golf Courses.

This is a well know procedure among Corporate CEO's.and business owners/managers......getting extremely low rates on work done on their personal residences, and, in turn, rewarded with jobs done at their businesses at a much higher cost to the business for work.........

[twodogsbarking]

12. Algae in the pool, scum in the White House.

[Bengus81]

18. Oh now that's a Sunday WINNER!

[love_katz]

19. For some reason, I hear those words to the tune of John Mellencamp 's song

Rain On The Scarecrow.

Algae in the pool, scum in the Oval.

[twodogsbarking]

33. John is a legend. Great drummer on many of his songs. The accordian rocks.

[cstanleytech]

15. Pond scum fighting pond scum...who will win?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

20. Have they started blaming immigrants for bringing the algae yet?

[AverageOldGuy]

22. Algae in the pipes? Really?

Perhaps one of the DU hydrologists can confirm this thesis.

[Farmer-Rick]

35. Exactly, algae needs sunlight to grow

Doesn't algae turn green because of photosynthesis? Doesn't photosynthesis need light?

Where is the light coming from inside the pipes? Somethings fishy about this story of algae building up inside pipes.

Me thinks the water was pumped from some open sources of water that had algae in it already. Just another scam by pedo Trump and his oligarchs.

My animal waterers never build up algae when they are kept in the dark. Humph, maybe pedo Trump has special algae?

[Pluvious]

23. Yet the Cult says...

"It had to be done"

( facepalm )

Link to tweet

[Bayard]

28. But it is reflecting.....

[ToxMarz]

24. They hired a luxury swimming pool contractor to renovate it like a swimming pool, but it can't be maintained

enviromentally like an actual swinning pool. They aren't going to pump it full of enough chlorine and chemicals to keep it "pristine". I don't think vistors or the media would enjoy constantly seeing sick and dead wildfife in and around the pool (and it proably would violate some EPA regulations). It is very shallow and heats up very quickly encouraging the algae. It was intended to looks it's best under such a natural enviroment they way it was originally designed. To try and keep it looking like a resort style blue pool is a fools errand.

[WestMichRad]

25. If they pour in enough poisons, they can stop the algae.

Let’s hope this isn’t their next step.

Bloody thieving idiots!

[progressoid]

27. "Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department"

Katie, there is another word for what you are but I won't say it.

[Bayard]

29. "Donald J. Trump is an expert builder,"

[forgotmylogin]

43. It's not his fault! It was his pool guy!

Instead of resorting to governmental architects and scientists who know "dark colors absorb heat and foster algae growth."

[BidenRocks]

30. There are regulations now which weren't there then!

There is legislation regarding water feature bottom colors. That's why you only see standard pool looks.
How long before they figured they built a maternity ward for bugs? Constant skimming is a must.
Chemical levels. In the California sun I was dumping bags of shock a week to keep the algae down. Ours were wall clingers, not floaters. Constant running of the Polaris and the filter.

Pools and boats are much nicer when the other guy owns them.
We just got stuck as a country fixing what wasn't broken.
He killed it! Another time when ya shoulda left it alone!

[twodogsbarking]

34. Well that didn't take long.

[truthisfreedom]

36. But but but...

Now it’s taller than the Empire State Building!

[twodogsbarking]

38. How many swimming pools is that in length? Olympic size and YMCA size?

[twodogsbarking]

37. That's what you can expect when you allow RFKJr to swim in your pool.

that donut look good

[Initech]

39. He claimed to drain the swamp, winds up creating an entirely new swamp!

[Boo1]

40. Can we get a meme of Trump dressed like a pool boy?

[dedl67]

41. Introduce snails and algal-eating fish

[Attilatheblond]

45. Water's not very deep, is it? Very warm? Poached snails and shrimp might create even more issues?

Edited to add:

The National Parks Service says it contains 6.75 million gallons of water. It ranges from 18 inches deep at the edges to 30 inches deep in the middle.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2026/05/12/what-to-know-about-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-its-history/90040893007/


In summer, water that shallow will be bloody hot.

[dedl67]

46. That's deeper than most of the Everglades, which harbors fish and snails

Actually, I was being half facetious, but I do sort of like the idea of turning the Reflecting Pool into a wetland ecosystem.. Maybe even gators.

[Attilatheblond]

47. Everglades like flora might make reflecting hard in that DC puddle

[Evolve Dammit]

42. Of course not. It is a stagant pool of water with high temperatures. And the color sucks. It reflected cuz it was white

Last edited Sun Jun 14, 2026, 06:30 PM - Edit history (2)

[BurnDoubt]

44. The Stable Genius Strikes Again.

“Smarter” than ALL the “Experts”.
Oh… and… who gets the Lien?
"If you’re having Legal Problems…
Call Divert, Deflect, Obfuscation and Delay, Attorneys at Law” (See our Add in the PennySaver)

[ProfessorGAC]

48. There's This Wonderful New Thing Called...

...BLEACH.
They didn't know to run bleach through the lines, then flush them out before filling the pool?

[BobTheSubgenius]

51. Algae back in the relecting pool already?

Thanks, Obama.

[BumRushDaShow]

52. Webcam livestream

https://www.earthcam.com/usa/dc/washingtonmonument/?cam=wamo

There are cold air advection clouds rolling in but when the sun hits that reflecting pool you can't miss the green!

[Torchlight]

55. Trashy li'l dude breaks something, then lines his pockets with tax-money to fix it

with a result worse than the original. That's our Boy!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

56. Laughter as workers put peroxide in algae-filled Reflecting Pool': '0 scientists in admin'

trump is not a good builder and ruined the reflecting pond. trump's attempts to fix the pond are really funny

Workers were spotted dumping hydrogen peroxide by the gallon into the Reflecting Pool days after President Donald Trump's .2 million renovation turned it green.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-06-16T14:00:26Z

https://www.rawstory.com/reflecting-pool-hydrogen-peroxide/

Workers were spotted dumping hydrogen peroxide by the gallon into the Reflecting Pool days after President Donald Trump's $14.2 million renovation turned it green.

CBS News journalist Bob Kovach was on the ground at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Tuesday morning. He posted a video of gallon jugs labeled "hydrogen peroxide" lined up at the water's edge, with workers kneeling beside them and pouring the chemical straight in. The pool, which Trump had painted "American flag blue" and refilled just 12 days ago, has since turned a mossy green.

Anonymous, an X account with 7.5 million followers, posted its own video of the scene. "'They're literally dumping hydrogen peroxide into the reflecting pool this morning,'" the account wrote.....

"'Y'all, not to be a huge nerd but for the reflecting pool you would need a minimum of about 8,000 liters of 12% hydrogen peroxide to reach the 50 parts per million concentration to kill algae,'" Dr. Michael O'Brien, a South Carolina pediatrician, wrote on X. "Is this what happens when you have 0 scientists in your administration?"

"'They are now pouring bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the ultra-green algae-filled Reflecting Pool that Trump wasted $10m of our money on,'" commentator Brian Krassenstein piled on.