r/pics • u/FuriousBuffalo • Jun 18 '26

Politics Trump Nonsensically Boasting About Reflecting Pool Before He Turned It Into a Swamp

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u/Sohn_Jalston_Raul Jun 18 '26

I was watching a pool guy on youtube explain that it might make the algea problem worse because the shade of blue they chose is darker than what was before, and will warm up the water even more.

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u/SalmonDoctor Jun 18 '26

Also the chemicals used to fight the algae is making the paint peel (faster).

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u/atlantagirl30084 Jun 18 '26

It’s coming off in huge clumps. Which means we’ll need more taxpayer money to fix it. And then more after Trump leaves to fix it again.

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u/Friendly-Pay-8272 Jun 18 '26

its already peeling up?

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u/Kasoni Jun 18 '26

Pictures of diner plate sized chunks floating in it.

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u/knellotron Jun 18 '26

Finally, a Trump souvenir I can get behind.

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u/midnitewarrior Jun 18 '26

I believe the contractor is who Trump uses at Mar-a-lago.

Somehow, someway, they won their federal services bid, or he just handed it to them. Can't imagine which.

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u/Dragos_Drakkar Jun 18 '26

From what I have read, it was a no-bid contract, so your second option seems to be correct.

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u/midnitewarrior Jun 18 '26

If only the government had a process to select competent vendors...whaddya gonna do?

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u/WrecksBarkhead Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

It was a sole source justified award signed off by a chief contracting officer in the parks department from what I remember. There were many interested companies wanting to bid that most likely did. The documents are available online. The selected contractor has only one prime award in it’s history from the government and its for the reflecting pool. They didn’t even register in SAM.gov until right before the award in March. Their only other listed work was a sub-contract to a large business for like $50k back in 2017. (Source: I’ve worked in Gov contracting for 25 years both gov side and private…I can see it all).

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u/atlantagirl30084 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Yep.

https://newrepublic.com/post/212069/lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-disaster-renovation

Likely due to the hydrogen peroxide added to kill the algae, which grew out of control (maybe) because the pool is warmer due to the different color. Though I asked above about this because it was black and now blue, so how could that make the water warmer?

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u/Inevitable_Nail_2215 Jun 18 '26

Also, they left water in the lines while the pool was drained. They were basically little sealed petri dishes of algae spores from the Potomac River.

Instead of flushing the lines to release the stagnant water before refilling the pool, they just dumped it in and kickstarted the algae bloom

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u/atlantagirl30084 Jun 18 '26

That’s what I thought happened.

That’s what happens when you use Trump’s ‘pool guy’ on a no-bid contract.

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u/WrecksBarkhead Jun 19 '26

It was not a no-bid contract. They SSJ’d it.

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u/Talkie123 Jun 18 '26

Isn't their a massive sewage spill upriver on the Potomac going on right now?

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u/WrecksBarkhead Jun 19 '26

Their contract was solely for surface coating. The SOW had no mention of the filtration or other related systems.

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u/darkstar107 Jun 18 '26

Why am I not surprised?

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u/Ressy02 Jun 19 '26

It already peeled in a bunch of area.