No. Nobody claimed that it would, either.
Because it was until 2012.
Your memory only goes back to 2011, then?
TrumpCo. is dumping gallons of hydrogen peroxide in National Mall reflecting pool to combat algae growth caused by Trump's $14 million 'renovation'
- Thread starter Cypress
- Start date
No. Nobody claimed that it would, either.
Because it was until 2012.
Your memory only goes back to 2011, then?
Grok:
- Darker surfaces do absorb more solar radiation and can heat shallow water more than lighter ones. "American Flag Blue" (a dark navy) has lower albedo (reflectivity) than lighter gray concrete. In a very shallow pool (1.5–2.5 feet deep), this can modestly raise water temperatures, especially in full sun with limited circulation, creating warmer conditions that favor algae growth.
- Pool experts and limnologists note this effect in dark-bottomed ponds or pools: the bottom acts like a solar collector. Some commentary (including from aquatic experts) flagged this risk during the renovation.
Important caveats and context:
- The previous bottom wasn't light-colored. It was primarily gray concrete (post-2012 renovation), sometimes described as dull gray or even with black asphalt elements or dye in earlier iterations. The change is from medium-gray to dark navy—not a dramatic shift from white to black.
- Algae has been a chronic issue for decades, long before this paint job—under Obama, Bush, etc. The shallow depth, intense DC summer sun, bird droppings, runoff nutrients, and periods of low flow are the dominant factors. Blooms occurred after the 2012 renovation too.
- Current bloom timing points more to startup. Officials attribute the recent green tint primarily to residual algae flushed from supply lines dormant during the ~8-week construction period, combined with warm weather. The new ozone nanobubble system + peroxide shock is addressing it, and it's described as a normal post-refill process.
Bottom line: The darker base could contribute a bit to warmer water and slightly higher algae risk going forward (a fair technical point).
However, framing it as the key new "cause" ignores the pool's long history and other immediate factors.
The renovation fixed leaks and aimed for better aesthetics/reflection; maintenance challenges in a massive, shallow, open reflecting pool are structural, not partisan. Expect ongoing monitoring and treatments regardless of color.
No. As usual you are just wrong. It has historically been black or asphalt. Which, no matter what the bottom color, has pretty much zero effect on the algae growth. I thought the left knew everything there was about environmental factors and effects. And just to put it back to you a bid $35.3 million dollar Obama renovation did not fix it either. Anything else you would like to be wrong about? So far you are keeping a perfect score.So a $14 million no-bid contract did not help solve the algae problem.
Why did you claim the bottom of the pool was black?
That's absolutely false, and the basin was always a concrete stone gray as long as I can remember.
The new blue coating will hide the pool's gray stone, a color Trump said was "never good." Trump had similar feelings about the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House, describing it as a "really bad color" last year. The president wants to cover the building in white paint and two federal agencies are reviewing his proposal.
Trump drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect blue coating he's adding
President Donald Trump on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool after he had it coated in a color he calls “American flag blue.”www.pbs.org
From your own link. The "expert": " Steve Goodale, a Canadian swimming pool specialist who goes by “Swimming Pool Steve,” said the darker blue of the renovated pool may worsen the pool’s existing algae problem absent other mitigation efforts."Reflecting Pool’s “American Flag Blue” Turns Green Due to Algae
The new dark color may be exacerbating the pool’s algae problem, an expert says.
Darker surfaces, such as the “American Flag Blue” waterproofing applied to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, absorb significantly more sunlight and heat than lighter-colored surfaces. In shallow, slow-moving water, this dark blue base acts as a heat source, raising water temperatures and providing the energy necessary for rapid algae growth.
Algae Turns Reflecting Pool’s “American Flag Blue” to Green
The new dark color may be exacerbating the pool’s algae problem, an expert says.washingtonian.com
You just cannot make this shit up!
With "experts" like the one in his link ,I can clearly see his "professional"careers and "higher" education are more than a tad exaggerated. Of course everyone else sees too. Except other dumb luck democrats.
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Jade Dragon
And I'm the one that jaded you.
Not surprisingly, everything Trump touches turns to shit. He's the Septic Midas. One could take one look at his gaudy tastes and ridiculous appearance and easily deduce he sucks at designing anything. Well, unless you're MAGA or one of Trump's brown-nosing flunkies.
You should probably read the entire thread instead of just going directly to swallowing Cyprus. Read the entire thread. Then go wipe your chin and sit in the corner dunce.
Noking
Fight authoritarianism support Noking
Poopeye, the master sallower from Pickle Park.
You lied your fat ass off about the bottom of the pool being colored black.
“If we change nothing else except the color, and we go from a lighter color to a darker color, absolutely you’re going to have more prolific algae growth,” Goodale said. “It’s a foregone conclusion.”
Steve Goodale, a Canadian swimming pool specialist who goes by “Swimming Pool Steve,” said the darker blue of the renovated pool may worsen the pool’s existing algae problem absent other mitigation efforts, because the darker color will absorb more sunlight and increase the water temperature, making the pool ripe for more algae blooms.
“If we change nothing else except the color, and we go from a lighter color to a darker color, absolutely you’re going to have more prolific algae growth,” Goodale said. “It’s a foregone conclusion.”
I didn't mind the stone grey color of basin floor. A dark royal blue seems like a Disneyland aesthetic.
Right over your pointy little head. No surprise.
signalmankenneth
Verified User
Does not affect it. Properly diluted it is safe for the paint and wildlife. It ends up decomposing into simple water.
How many hundreds of gallon bottles are they going to pour in? The pools holds nearly 7 million gallons of water, and a gallon of 12% hydrogen peroxide is only gonna treat a few dozen gallons as far as I know. Also it degrades really fast under heat and direct sunlight so they better pour fast, lol.
Grok:
This is a clever but weak pun that doesn't hold up under scrutiny.
It's classic partisan wordplay twisting a temporary maintenance hiccup into a metaphor for Trump's "drain the swamp" slogan (his promise to reduce Washington corruption and bureaucracy). Here's the factual breakdown:
The Literal "Swamp" Claim
- The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turned green with algae shortly after refilling post-renovation. This is real and widely reported.
- Workers used hydrogen peroxide as a shock treatment, and the new ozone nanobubble filtration system is actively killing the bloom, with algae being vacuumed out. Interior Department officials describe it as "residual" from supply lines dormant during ~8 weeks of construction — a normal post-refill process in hot weather.
- As of mid-June 2026, the bloom is being managed, though some experts note green tint could linger temporarily in this massive (~6.75 million gallon), shallow, sun-exposed pool.
Why It's Overstated Spin
- Algae is not new — it's chronic since 1922. The pool has battled blooms for over a century due to its design (very shallow 1.5–2.5 ft deep, full sun penetration, nutrient inputs from birds/runoff/Tidal Basin water, limited natural flow). Major issues recurred after the 2012 Obama-era renovation (which cost ~$34M and also required draining/cleanup shortly after reopening due to algae).
- The 2026 renovation fixed real problems: Long-standing leaks (wasting millions of gallons of water annually), waterproofing, and added advanced filtration. It wasn't just cosmetic "American Flag Blue" paint. Officials credit the new system with finally getting ahead of the perennial issue.
- Timing = startup, not failure. Construction paused the system; refilling flushed out built-up residue in warm June weather. This matches historical patterns after any major work, not a unique Trump blunder.
The Metaphor Falls Flat
- "Drain the swamp" was always rhetorical — about government reform, not literal water features. Mocking a national monument's routine (if photogenic) maintenance as "installing a swamp" ignores that the pool has been a maintenance headache across multiple administrations. The renovation reduced long-term waste (leaks) and deployed modern tech for better control.
- Partisan memes thrive on visuals (green water photos), but context shows proactive fixes amid predictable biology. The pool will likely clear for July 4 events, as targeted.
Bottom line: Temporary algae ≠ "installing a swamp." It's an engineered reflecting pool with inherent challenges being actively managed with upgraded tools. The pun scores points for wit in echo chambers but substitutes gotcha imagery for the full history and engineering reality. Washington has plenty of real bureaucratic swamps; this isn't one of them.
Well we need to know what concentration they are pouring, but I bet it is high, and they are making no effort to evenly distribute it, so I bet that certain parts of the paint are getting hammered.
That is blatantly untrue, as you can see from the photos.
12% according to news articles.