The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was partially refilled Friday as the National Park Service (NPS) worked to clear clogged pipes, an issue the agency attributed to "years of neglect by previous administrations." The NPS posted a sign indicating that more than half of the 58 supply ports were non-functioning due to buildup.
The pool, built in the 1920s, has a history of leaks and cracks. A renovation undertaken during the Obama administration in the 2010s, which included a treatment plant to purify water from the Tidal Basin, did not resolve these issues.
President Donald Trump has focused on the pool's pipe problems, which he described as leaking "like a sieve" during an April announcement of his administration's $16 million renovation project. That project, however, focused on repainting the pool's bottom and installing a new filtration system, leaving the original pipes untouched.
Problems have surfaced throughout Trump's renovation. In mid-June, algae blooms turned the water green, and a newly installed liner appeared to peel. Trump initially attributed these issues to vandalism, but legal proceedings have cast doubt on this explanation.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro moved to drop four cases related to alleged vandalism, stating in a filing that evidence suggested damage resulted from a flawed renovation rather than intentional sabotage. Pirro described the renovation as "hasty" and "botched" in a 20-page filing, noting that concerns about the peeling liner predated the alleged vandalism. The decision to drop the most prominent charge, against former Olympian David Hearn, has led to questions about Pirro's future and Hearn's legal team seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice.
The pool was drained for repairs in mid-July, with Trump stating at the time that the work would fix damage caused by "vandals" and that the pool would soon be refilled. The NPS warned that the flushing process might temporarily discolor the water due to the clearing of pipe buildup, a similar explanation provided earlier when algae blooms appeared.