Fencing goes up at Reflecting Pool after Trump vandalism claims

Crews began installing fencing around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said six people had been arrested over recent damage at the site. The dispute has turned a troubled renovation ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations into a security and maintenance fight on the National Mall.

Trump wrote on social media that a “350-foot gash” had been made in the pool’s new coating and said another seven people had been cited. He blamed the damage on criminal vandalism and said the Interior Department would release photos and video to support the claim.

The Associated Press reported that, as of Tuesday afternoon, no such images had been made public. The AP also reported that U.S. Park Police and the Interior Department did not immediately answer requests for comment on the arrests or on Trump’s vandalism allegations.

Security tightened near the pool

National Guard members and Park Police have been posted around the pool after Trump said over the weekend that vandals had damaged the liner, according to the AP. Late Tuesday, workers were seen adding fencing near the Reflecting Pool and the World War II Memorial.

Interior Department spokeswoman Katie Martin told the AP that fencing had already been planned before July Fourth because a fireworks launch pad is near the pool. She said the fencing was being installed earlier than planned because of increased vandalism by “leftist activists,” but the AP reported that she did not provide evidence for that characterization.

The AP said it had confirmed one arrest involving a man who touched paint that was already peeling. The man said he wanted to inspect the coating and let go after a park worker told him to stop, according to the AP.

Trump said Tuesday that some water would be drained from the pool either right before or after July Fourth for permanent repairs. The AP reported that his post did not specify the size, scope or cost of that work.

A renovation under scrutiny

The Reflecting Pool project has cost more than $14 million, according to the AP. Trump had ordered the pool drained and its bottom painted a color he called “American flag blue,” saying he wanted the century-old site cleaned and improved before anniversary events.

After the pool was refilled, algae spread through the water and pieces of the new coating appeared to peel from the bottom, the AP reported. The news organization saw a roughly 4-square-foot section of liner partly floating Friday and more pieces in the water Monday.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a contractor on the project, said in a statement reported by the AP that it had found some areas needing repair. The company said those areas were a small portion of the 7-acre project and did not show that the liner had failed. It said repairs would be made under warranty once the pool is drained.

Workers have recently poured hydrogen peroxide into the pool to fight algae, according to the AP, which noted that hydrogen peroxide can also act as a paint remover. Experts cited by the AP said darker pool surfaces can absorb more sunlight, warm the water and encourage algae growth.

Bird deaths draw a call for inquiry

The Center for Biological Diversity asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate after a Mallard duckling carcass was photographed in the algae-filled pool and two other ducks were found dead nearby, the AP reported. The group said the agency should enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects migratory birds.

City Wildlife, a Washington rescue and rehabilitation nonprofit that also performs bird necropsies, told the AP it could not determine what killed the duckling because the carcass was not recovered for examination.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.