Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool faces repairs amid peeling, algae bloom

Donald Trump said six people had been arrested over alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, but the records tied to the renovation pointed instead to maintenance problems, water treatment and a new coating that began peeling soon after the pool was refilled.

The contradiction has drawn attention to one of Washington’s most visible federal landmarks, not because the pool itself is new to repairs, but because the president’s sabotage claim has not been backed by the documents reviewed. The Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial sit within the 1902 McMillan Plan for the National Mall, and the area draws an estimated 4.5 million visitors a year ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The National Park Service has dealt with similar problems before. It completed a major rehabilitation of the Reflecting Pool from 2010 to 2012 with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money, in an overhaul that cost roughly $30.74 million to $35 million and rebuilt the basin and circulation system. In 2019, Park Service crews drained the pool again after a broken water line affected water quality and triggered algae growth and a green tint.

The latest renovation cost about $14.5 million to $16 million, according to reporting, and was completed around June 14, 2026. The pool was refilled around June 9, then turned green within days as the National Park Service and the Interior Department used hydrogen peroxide, nanobubble ozone technology, and vacuuming and scraping to fight the algae. A Department of the Interior spokesperson described the algae as “residual” and said it came from reactivated supply lines. Reporting also said the administration used District of Columbia municipal water, which is treated with phosphate to prevent lead leaching, and phosphate can also feed algae.

Trump said vandals had dumped corrosive chemicals or fertilizer into the pool, but the available records did not support that conclusion. One person detained, former canoeist and three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn, said he only touched a partially detached piece of blue coating at the bottom of the pool and did not remove, tear, break, destroy or harm it. ABC News reported that Hearn was held for about five hours and was set to appear in court on July 9, 2026.

The White House defended the renovation even as the episode raised fresh questions about law enforcement, taxpayer spending and how quickly federal officials moved from a peeling blue coating to claims of deliberate damage. The Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in 1922, and the Reflecting Pool, completed in 1924, remain among the National Mall’s most photographed vistas, with the Potomac River and Tidal Basin nearby.