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.
Trump originally pitched the project as a one-week, $1.5 to $2 million job. It ballooned into a $14.2 million no-bid contract awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings — and algae appeared within days of the water being returned.
A pool renovation expert had seen it coming. Canadian specialist Steve Goodale, known as “Swimming Pool Steve,” warned the Washingtonian that darker paint absorbs more sunlight, raises water temperature, and makes algae blooms inevitable.
“‘If we change nothing else except the color, and we go from a lighter color to a darker color, absolutely you’re going to have more prolific algae growth,’” Goodale said. “‘It’s a foregone conclusion.’”
“‘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.
The Interior Department blamed “residual algae” from supply lines that had been dormant during construction, insisting that nanobubblers would keep the pool clean going forward.
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