The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color Donald Trump called “American flag blue” this spring.
An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off reflecting pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.
Trump’s problem-plagued effort to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the reflecting pool ready by 4 July for the nation’s 250th birthday.
The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5m, but the bill ballooned to more than $16m by June.
Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project’s initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7m contract to install a water-purification system in the reflecting pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7m to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.
Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for the peeling paint, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a “350-foot gash” in the liner and caused other problems. No large slash marks were immediately visible on Wednesday from the Washington Monument view. It was not possible to do a more up-close inspection of the entire pool due to a dark fence surrounding the perimeter.
Interior secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.” He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.
Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the US park police a 9 June incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool’s new liner.
Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in DC superior court to deliberately damaging the reflecting pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.
His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the reflecting pool.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
The work on the reflecting pool is just one of many projects Trump has spearheaded across the country’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400m ballroom and plans to build a towering arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington national cemetery.
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