Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump's 'American flag blue' liner is now closer to gray

Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump's 'American flag blue' liner is now closer to gray

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a iconic landmark in Washington, has been at the center of controversy in recent months. The pool's newly drained bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President 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, and the new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June.

Trump's effort to revamp the landmark has been plagued by problems, and the project has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation's 250th birthday. The president initially suggested that the renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June. Trump had said that 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 was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor. Despite the significant investment, the pool's condition has continued to deteriorate, with Trump blaming vandals for the peeling paint. However, critics allege that the problem is due to shoddy repair work.

Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a "350-foot gash" in the liner and caused other problems. However, no large slash marks were immediately visible from the Washington Monument view, and 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."

Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 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 D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said that 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 that 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, and all three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances. The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects that Trump has spearheaded across the nation's capital.

A lawsuit filed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit organization, against the Department of the Interior on May 11 alleges that the renovation project violated federal law by not undergoing the proper review process to make changes to historic places. The nonprofit is requesting that work on the pool be stopped until plans can undergo review. Litigation remains ongoing, with District Judge Carl John Nichols giving the Justice Department until July 17 to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.