Reflecting Pool turns green days after Trump’s $14 million renovation

LocalEnvironment
17 Jun 2026 • 2:07 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Reflecting Pool turns green days after Trump’s $14 million renovation

  • The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has turned green just days after a six-week, £10m renovation project was finished.
  • The project involved draining the pool and repainting its surface in an "American flag blue", as requested by President Donald Trump.
  • An algae bloom quickly returned to the shallow pool, which has a history of forming rapidly.
  • A visitor from Florida suggested that eliminating the algae is an "impossible task" that will likely persist.
  • The Department of Interior confirmed the algae is dead and being vacuumed, thanking Trump for the pool's repair.

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