In April, in the United States, President Donald Trump announced plans to make changes to the famous Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC. Mr. Trump bent rules to rush the project, make changes finished quickly saying the pool would be better and last longer. After spending roughly $14.7 million, the pool is now covered in peeling paint and blooming algae.
The Reflecting Pool, a man made pool in Washington, DC, and it was constructed in the early 1920s and completed in 1923.
From June 14th to 15th the pool was painted blue, and then the blue made the water hotter, so the algae grew because blue collects more heat than the original gray color. The water started to grow algae and became green. Soon after painting, large strips of blue paint fell off and were left floating in the water, making the pool look part-blue and part-green. Scientists aren’t surprised about the algae growth. The pool’s water comes indirectly from the polluted Potomac River, and the river contains lots of fertilizers and pesticides. In the heat of summer, these chemicals help the algae grow faster.
At first Trump, said the job would “take one week and cost about a million and a half dollars.” But the repair took six weeks and costed about 16.4 million dollars. So far, the Atlantic Industrial Coatings has been paid $14.7 million to paint the pool blue. Later, a second company was paid $1.7 million to try to clean the water. Most of this money comes from the fees people pay to go to U.S. National Parks. Of course, the pool now needs to be drained, cleaned, and treated again. So the final price tag for this project will be very high.