Workers Dump 12% Hydrogen Peroxide into Hydrogen Peroxide Reflecting Pool
Workers dumped containers of 12% hydrogen peroxide into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, trying to clear an algae bloom that had turned the water green. The treatment went into the hydrogen peroxide reflecting pool as the Department of the Interior said the material would not harm wildlife that use it.
Department of the Interior spokesperson Katie Martin said Monday that the Trump administration was using nanobubbler technology. Martin said the technology had successfully destroyed the algae bloom that has plagued every pool reopening since 1922.
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool treatment
The department said hydrogen peroxide is a milder treatment than chlorine and is used in spas and specialty pools like natural swimming pools. That left workers treating a landmark pool that has been plagued by algae blooms for years with a substance the department said would avoid adverse effects for wildlife.
Aerial photos taken later Tuesday showed signs the algae was dissipating from the sides of the pool, but it remained clumped together in the center. The visible change followed a Monday cleanup that put the treatment itself on display at the site.
Trump and Reflecting Pool costs
Trump announced renovations to the Reflecting Pool in April and said at the time that he intended to make the basin American Flag Blue. He has frequently defended the work as more than a paint job, while also blaming the Obama and Biden administrations for wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on unsuccessful renovations.
Obama spent about $34 million on renovations to the pool in 2012, and 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 on the project through a no-bid contract to a company that previously did work on one of Trump’s golf courses in Virginia.
For people watching the landmark now, the immediate question is whether the pool keeps clearing after the Monday treatment. Tuesday’s aerial photos showed movement at the edges, but the center still held the bloom that had brought the cleanup crews back to the reflecting pool.
