How the Reflecting Pool Turned Green: Missing 'Bubblers' and a Rush Job (New York Times Gift Article)

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Bulky “nanobubbler” machines were carted off ahead of a promotional event for President Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship birthday party.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/us/politics/reflecting-pool-trump-algae.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tVA.2QwI.US81yGvYDJ99&smid=nytcore-android-share

Dotted around the perimeter of the memorial’s Reflecting Pool were the nanobubblers, the temporary water-purification machines meant to keep the pool clear of algae. Encased in black fencing and powered by large generators, the machines were something of an eyesore.

Before the event, the National Park Service asked Greenwater Services, which won a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install the nanobubblers, to remove them, according to two people briefed on the decision. The people asked for anonymity because they feared retaliation from the administration. The Park Service did not provide a reason for the removal, but it coincided exactly with the promotional event, which drew crowds to the Reflecting Pool.

Photos from that evening showed the pool without the hoses or enormous machines working to keep the water clean. The water looked dark blue.

But by the time the purification systems were reinstalled 36 hours later, enormous algae blooms were starting to spread unchecked, turning the water green.,,,,,

The decision to remove the water-treatment systems, which has not previously been reported, was one of several missteps that have plagued Mr. Trump’s $16.4 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool. There have been no-bid contracts, peeling strips of waterproof coating in Mr. Trump’s handpicked shade of “American flag blue,” and even a dead duck floating in the water (though it is not clear if the renovation had anything to do with the duck’s demise).

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1. MS NOW-How Trump's reconstructed Reflecting Pool created a 'perfect' storm for algae

For one thing, an ecologist explained, the president’s color choice “absorbs more light, more heat, and extra heat is a benefit for algae growth.”

How Trump’s reconstructed Reflecting Pool created a ‘perfect’ storm for algae
For one thing, an ecologist explained, the president’s color choice “absorbs more light, more heat, and extra heat is a benefit for algae growth.” www.ms.now/news/trump-r...

— US News Now - World’s leading Liberal Voice (@democracyblue.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T14:01:31.440Z

https://www.ms.now/news/trump-reflecting-pool-algae-renovation

Dr. Peter May, an algae expert and ecologist at the University of Maryland, specifically pointed to three mistakes made by the administration during the overhaul: the color, the water and the season.

Trump inherited a Reflecting Pool last renovated by President Barack Obama in 2012, during which a light concrete material was used to line the base of the fountain. This allowed the fountain to reflect light and heat away from the water, May said. But once Trump directed the National Park Service to paint the pool a dark “American flag blue” — the highlight of his Washington makeover to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — the temperature of the water rose.

“It absorbs more light, more heat, and extra heat is a benefit for algae growth,” May said, adding that this algal bloom will likely not be the last one we see this summer.

That is due in part to the water the park service filled the pool with, the same that comes from any sink in the city. May said the city’s tap water is high in both phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients that are perfectly safe for people to drink, but also fuel algae growth. Add to that the summer heat — the renovation is set to be finished for America’s semiquincentennial on the Fourth of July — and the monument has quickly become an ideal incubator for the fast-growing flora. .....

The pool, like the White House ballroom, has become a visual symbol of the Trump administration’s wrecking ball to democratic norms. May says with current conditions and the blue hue, we could potentially expect a new bloom again.

“Well algae is great, it grows very fast and so a bloom happens overnight and or during the day because of photosynthesis,” May said of the organism’s unpredictable growth.

Only one thing is certain, he said: “The conditions are perfect for it right now. It could happen, and it could happen very quickly.”