The Trump administration is struggling to keep Washington's iconic reflecting pool the color the president wants, as an algae bloom has repeatedly turned the water murky green despite a $14.2 million renovation project.
The work was supposed to make the pool "American Flag blue" in time for the nation's 250th birthday celebration. But days after contractors finished the job, the water started shifting between various shades of green. By Thursday, sections of the protective coating applied by Atlantic Industrial Coatings began peeling away, forcing workers into waders to manually remove algae patches.
The Interior Department's response to the problem veered into the unusual. After eyewitnesses reported seeing the pool covered in green algae, the agency's press office denied there was an issue at all, insisting the water was "crystal clear" and blaming media outlets for false reporting. But they didn't stop there. In a statement comparing the situation to something far more serious, the department said the algae removal effort was like "the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf."
The comparison was striking: a decades-old memorial pool in the nation's capital being framed through the lens of military conflict. It also highlighted a parallel the administration seemed willing to draw, even if loosely. Just as the reflecting pool continued to defy Trump's vision for it, his stated objectives in other high-profile initiatives have shifted.
The reflecting pool sits at the heart of American history. It was the backdrop for Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. The structure dates back over a century and had been operating without major intervention until this renovation push.
Questions have already surfaced about how the contract was awarded. Atlantic Industrial Coatings received the no-bid contract, and the company had previously done work on a swimming pool at one of Trump's golf clubs. The arrangement drew attention from those questioning the procurement process.
When the algae problem first emerged, the administration initially said residual algae would clear naturally after the renovation finished. Warm weather made things worse instead. The department then pivoted to a new solution, announcing plans to install a "nanobubbler technology" water treatment system. Officials claimed the technology had "very effectively killed the algae" in testing.
As of Thursday, workers were still on site, attempting to vacuum the dead algae off the pool bottom while the administration worked to prevent more green growth. The project that was meant to be a quick victory in reconditioned Washington has turned into an unexpected test of patience against a common pool problem.
Author James Rodriguez: "When a $14 million project to paint a pool can't outrun warm-weather algae, maybe the real lesson isn't about the pool at all."
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