Topline
Workers were once again spotted trying to clean up the algae bloom that turned the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool a sickly shade of green despite President Donald Trump’s recent $14.2 million renovations—this time resorting to dumping containers of 12% hydrogen peroxide into the pool.
The Trump administration spent about $14.2 million on renovations to the Reflecting Pool, including painting it “American Flag Blue.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
The Department of the Interior told multiple outlets hydrogen peroxide was a “milder treatment than chlorine and is used in spas and specialty pools like natural swimming pools,” and it would have no adverse effect to wildlife that use the Reflecting Pool.
It remains unclear how effective the treatment will prove in the long run—aerial photos of the Reflecting Pool taken later Tuesday show signs the algae was dissipating from the sides of the pool, but remained clumped together in the center.
Department of the Interior spokesperson Katie Martin told Forbes on Monday the Trump administration was using “nanobubbler technology” that has already “successfully destroyed the algae bloom that has plagued every pool reopening since 1922.”
The department previously blamed the resurgent algae on “residual” algae from supply lines, which bring water to the pool from the Tidal Basin, a nearby inlet of the Potomac River.
National Parks Service workers use a vacuum to clean the Reflecting Pool on Tuesday.
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An aerial view of the Reflecting Pool on Tuesday, June 16.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Children watch ducks in the Reflecting Pool on June 16.
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A worker cleans algae in the reflecting pool on June 16.
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Workers treat the Reflecting Pool on June 16.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Background
Trump announced the renovations to the Reflecting Pool in April, telling reporters at the time he intended to make the basin of the pool “American Flag Blue.” The Reflecting Pool was first installed in 1922, and has been plagued by algae blooms for years. Trump has frequently defended the Reflecting Pool renovations as more than just a “paint job,” and has previously blamed the Obama and Biden administrations for wasting “hundreds of millions of dollars” on unsuccessful renovations to it. Obama spent about $34 million on renovations to the pool in 2012, the Associated Press reported, while Biden did not undertake any extensive renovations during his single term in office. Trump initially estimated the project would cost about $1.5 million, but public records show the government has spent about $14.2 million—which went through a no-bid contract to a company that previously did work on one of Trump’s golf courses in Virginia, the New York Times reported.