The Trump administration has come up with a liquid solution for the growing algae problem in the newly renovated Reflecting Pool: Bleach.
On Tuesday, workers outfitted in neon vests were seen dumping hydrogen peroxide into the roughly 2,000-foot body of water, which had turned green just days after the president’s much touted $14 million refurbishment wrapped up, The Daily Beast reported.
Photos show crews unloading numerous large boxes — apparently filled with the cleaning solution — at multiple points along the pool’s perimeter.
A close-up of the materials showed workers were using a 12 percent concentration, which the CDC warns can cause respiratory issues if inhaled and chemical burns upon skin contact, according to The New Republic. At high concentrations, hydrogen peroxide may also pose a risk to wildlife, including ducks that are often seen splashing around in the pool.
Some visitors were shocked by the state of the pool.
“I think it’s a mess. I’ve never seen it this green before,” one area resident complained to The Daily Beast. “I was expecting green, but it’s a little greener than I thought it would be,” he observed.
Just days earlier, the Trump administration completed its resurfacing project in the pool, which the president had vowed would be painted “American flag blue.” Workers with large rollers had been seen laboring inside the drained basin for over a month. Trump had promised the work would cost about $2 million, but it ended up coming in at $14 million.
But after Trump hailed his refurbishment as a major victory, photographers and visitors noted this weekend that the water had turned a distinct shade of green as algae began to accumulate. On Monday, Park Service workers were seen wading into the pool and clearing out clumps of green growth.
In response to the build-up, an Interior Department spokesperson took a swipe at Trump’s Democratic predecessors, while stating that the algae is being handled.
“Unlike under Obama and Biden, the National Park Service is actually maintaining the beautifully completed Reflecting Pool,” the spokesperson told The Independent. “To keep the water in the Reflecting Pool not only crystal clear but also clean, we are deploying high-tech nanobubble ozone technology. This technology is actively killing algae, pathogens (e.g., E. coli), and contaminants that have long plagued the Reflecting Pool since 1922, most infamously, the Obama pool reopening that resulted in massive algae clumps taking over the pool’s surface following years of construction that cost taxpayers millions upon millions only to be broken and disgusting days later.”
They also confirmed that hydrogen peroxide had been deployed, describing it as “a milder treatment than chlorine,” which has “no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”
Earlier this week it was also revealed that another signature project, the White House ballroom, is projected to come in significantly over budget.
In March, the project’s contractor informed the administration that total costs would reach $600 million — with at least half expected to be covered by taxpayers, The Washington Post reported. The same month, Trump said the sprawling ballroom would cost $400 million and be funded entirely by private donations.
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