Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again after earlier repairs failed to hold. President Donald Trump had set July 4 as the target for finishing the work, but the pool developed an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating began peeling soon after the job was done.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the new round of draining was planned, along with another cleaning and refill. On Thursday, David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool, and he said he reached inside to examine peeled sealant before letting go of a chunk when a park worker told him to.
Doug Burgum plans another drain
Burgum said the water might still contain debris from an extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall. In an interview released earlier this week with conservative podcaster Katie Miller, he said, “Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” and, “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”
The pool was closed for the Independence Day celebration. Trump said the fireworks display was the largest in the world, and he had already directed that the bottom be painted what he called “American flag blue.”
David Hearn in D.C. Superior Court
Hearn was one of several people charged in connection with the pool. At least three other people were charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, and all three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday. David Hearn’s arrest near the Reflecting Pool followed the same June 9 incident that court documents say the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police, when a sharp knife or razor cut the pool’s new liner.
The dispute over the damage runs through the same question that has followed the project since last month: whether the peeling came from vandalism or from the repair work itself. Trump blamed vandals, while critics pointed to shoddy repair work and a cut liner. Burgum said the administration will not seek bids for the next round of repairs and will use the same company because, he said on ’s State of the Union, “We’ll use the same company because they did a fantastic job.”
Green Water Solutions contract
Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, received a $1.7 million contract. Trump said he wanted the Reflecting Pool beautification completed before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations, and in May he posted that the goal was to have the pool done prior to July 4th. The new draining means the pool is out again after a short-lived completion, with the next phase focused on cleaning, repairs and refilling rather than a fresh bidding process.
Trump’s repair order at the Reflecting Pool had already set the work in motion before the latest drainage began, and the court filings now tie the delay to both the liner cut and the peeling coating. What remains at issue is how much of the damage came from vandalism and how much came from the repair job itself.
