More than a day after the Interior Department said that the water of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was «crystal clear,» it appears to be anything but.
Despite tireless efforts from National Park Service workers, the pool, which cost more than $14.65 million to repaint, is still marred by algae as the «American flag blue» paint covering the floor continues to peel.
The condition of the water on its own, as opposed to the grandeur of the monument, is becoming a draw of its own as well.
In an aerial view from the Washington Monument, crews remove algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after recent renovations following a directive from President Donald Trump to paint it blue ahead of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, in Washington, D.C., June 19, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters
When ABC News visited the site on Friday afternoon, tourists stopped to take photos of the blooming algae, quipping about how quickly the massive renovation project — one of President Donald Trump’s signature improvement projects for the capital — went awry.
A pair of protesters were also marching alongside the pool’s perimeter with a “Team Algae” sign pointing out the seemingly unnoticeable differences made by the cleanup work.
Protesters were seen at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, poking fun at the blooming algae.
Lalee Ibsaa/ABC News
Multiple workers were seen in the pool again, attempting to clean the waters by pumping out the algae into drains.
Algae can be seen all along the sides of the reflecting pool as well as in the middle where large spots of green can be seen.
There are also multiple white blobs throughout the reflecting pool, though it is unclear what they are.
ABC News has reached out to the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior for additional information.
A crew removes algae from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after recent renovations, following a directive from President Donald Trump to paint it blue ahead of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, in Washington, D.C., June 19, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters
The problems come as the DOI has deployed both a hydrogen peroxide treatment and «nanobubble» ozone technology, a spokesperson said, in order to help bring down the discoloration and filth that has marred the pool’s waters in recent days.
“The Reflecting Pool water is crystal clear, and our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting pool,” the Department of Interior said in a post on X Wednesday night in response to the problems.
The department said that all reopenings of the Reflecting Pool have been plagued by algae blooms and that vacuuming up the algae would take a couple of days.
Algae blooms became noticeable late last week and have continued to accumulate throughout the week turning the blue pool into a green, murky mess.
The blue paint covering the floor of the pool that President Donald Trump has been touting in recent weeks continues to peel as visitors who spotted the area reached down and pulled out pieces as a keepsake of the the growing controversy.
Algae continues to plague the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Lalee Ibsaa/ABC News
Trump has praised the reflecting pool renovations as part of his “Make America Beautiful» initiative, arguing that tourists would be able to enjoy the pristine clear, blue water of D.C.’s most popular attractions and a spot that is steeped in history.
“You’re going to be very proud of it. It’ll last for 50 to 100 years before you have to do anything, with very strong, powerful substance that we used,” President Trump said of the pool’s lining earlier this month as he praised the aesthetic upgrades he said he made to the site.
In April, Trump said he would clean up the massive pool within a week and for about $1 million, but now those costs have skyrocketed as new problems arise for park service workers.
In addition to the $14.65 million spent on repainting, the National Park Service paid $1.74 million to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company, earlier this year to install a «nanobubble» system to kill algae in an attempt to prevent the problems now seen from happening.
Workers are expected to continue to attempt to clear up the reflecting pool as summer tourism upticks ahead of the July 4th and America 250 celebrations.
