The President’s Attempts To Repair The Reflecting Pool

In April, President Trump wanted to repair the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Because this year is America’s 250th birthday, he wants to paint it the color blue like the one on the American flag. Despite spending millions of dollars to make the pool look captivating, it looks even worse than before.

This isn’t the first time the pool has been repaired. Because the pool was built in the 1920s on marshy land, it was constructed without deep structural pilings and has suffered from decades of sinking, severe leaks, and recurring algae blooms. The pool was closed off for 2 years, but algae on the pool’s surface came back right after it was opened again.

Repairing the pool took about six weeks. It was drained, and scrubbed;, leaks were fixed, waterproofed, and painted blue. Only days after refilling the pool, it turned green from the algae that started to grow in the water again. The rapid blooming of algae is due to a combination of summer heat, shallow water, and the attempt to make it look attracting captivating by repainting the bottom of the pool.

[Paragraph break] In addition, the total cost was about $16.4 million so far, but the Atlantic Industrial Coatings were only paid $14.7 million. The other $1.7 million went to a second company, Green Water Solutions, who also tried to clean the water. They installed advanced nanobubbler equipment intended to infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. Because chemical treatments were used, the company had to vacuum the pool to remove the sediment and muck left over after the algae died off.

Now, the pool needs to be repaired again, causing the price tag to be much higher. Trump claims, without proof, that people have damaged the pool on purpose, but the real reason behind it is that the job was rushed through. However, scientists say that since “the pool’s water comes indirectly from the polluted Potomac River” it “contains lots of fertilizers which have washed off of farm lands” and in “the summer heat, these chemicals help drive algae growth”(NFK Editors, 2026).

Initially, the job was supposed to take one week and only cost about a million and a half dollars to beautify it.

The captivating look is essential because its still waters frame iconic views of the U.S. Capital and the Washington_Monument, while providing a backdrop for major historic gatherings.

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