Reflecting Pool drained again after Trump renovation hits problems

Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again after algae and peeling coating appeared soon after a Trump-backed renovation, according to the Associated Press. The work extends a high-profile project that President Donald Trump wanted finished before July 4 for the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.

The Associated Press reported that Trump had initially suggested the overhaul would last a century. Within weeks of the project’s initial completion last month, the pool had an algae bloom and parts of the new surface coating appeared to be coming off the bottom.

Trump has blamed vandalism for the peeling, the AP reported. Critics of the administration have argued that the problems point to poor repair work.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose department oversees the National Park Service, said in an interview with conservative podcaster Katie Miller that the new draining had been planned, according to the AP. Burgum said the pool could still contain debris from the Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall.

“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller, according to the AP. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

The Reflecting Pool work is among several Washington projects Trump has pushed, the AP reported. Those include demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans for a tall arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

Trump announced plans this spring to improve the pool before the July 4 celebration, according to the AP. The water was drained, and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he described on social media as “American flag blue.” In May, he posted that the goal was to finish the work before July 4 and said the project was ahead of schedule.

Court documents later showed that the National Park Service reported a June 9 incident to the U.S. Park Police in which a sharp knife or razor cut the pool’s new liner, according to the AP. Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the pool.

Hearn has said he reached into the pool to inspect peeled sealant and released a piece when a park worker told him to do so, the AP reported. His lawyers and other Trump administration critics have called the case an abuse of prosecutorial power and said he is being blamed for flawed work on the pool.

At least three other people have been charged in D.C. Superior Court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing paint pieces from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records cited by the AP. All three entered not guilty pleas at initial court appearances Wednesday.

The pool was closed during the Independence Day event, which Trump described as featuring the largest fireworks display in the world, the AP reported. Trump had said the pool would need to be drained again as part of the next round of repairs.

Burgum said the administration will not seek bids for the latest repair work, according to the AP. He told CNN’s “State of the Union” that officials would use the same company because, in his words, “they did a fantastic job.”

The AP reported that Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, received a $1.7 million contract for a water-purification system. Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor. Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate are investigating the project and seeking information about the taxpayer funding involved, according to the AP.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.