Onlookers found a dead duckling in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, sparking concerns about the water conditions inside the newly renovated landmark. Photos of the dead duckling floating in the pool next to green algae surfaced online days after the Trump administration completed more than $13 million worth of repairs to the site…
Following an oval office signing event where President Trump signed two executive orders intended to speed up the implementation of Quantum Computing within the U.S. Government, President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool on current events. The Q&A begins at 16:24 of the video below (prompted): . Posted in media bias, President Trump, […]
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President Donald Trump says vandals caused the algae blooms and peeling paint at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. He speaks with reporters in the Oval Office. (Source: Bloomberg)
A long-time expert in swimming pools knows the culprit behind the Reflecting Pool "vandalism" that caused an ongoing algae bloom. For the past several weeks, CNN has welcomed on "Swimming Pool Steve," a second-generation pool builder who has a YouTube channel dedicated to explaining aspects of swimming pools and hot tubs. Speaking to host Boris Sanchez on Monday, Steve Goodale said there would always be an algae problem in the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool. "Let's start with the algae leak theory," Sanchez began. "What is more likely: that someone planted this algae or that it occurred and spread naturally?" "Well, somebody definitely planted the algae and it was the very first bird that landed in the water," said Goodale. "You know, in an open-air environment like this, there's no stopping the algae from coming. It's going to be in the water. It's just how are you going to deal with it knowing that it will be expected."The way to fix it, he explained, is a multi-pronged solution: the pool must be drained and the immediate remediation would likely follow. The algae problem is likely to be back-burnered, he said, while they figure out the problem with the liner. Monday morning a baby duck was found dead in the pool's water, prompting Sanchez to question whether the new chemicals put in the pool could be the culprit. "It would really come down to a matter of concentration," said Goodale. "And again, we're talking about, you know, 6.5 million gallons of water or more. So, it would take an awful lot of product to get to dangerous levels of contamination here. It's why hydrogen peroxide would be commonly used for an open-air, clear water environment like this, because it is kind of the safer of the options. It's why we don't use something like chlorine, which wouldn't be as safe for the wildlife."He also passed along his sympathies for the tragic death of the baby duck. Sanchez then asked about Trump's claims of vandalism and the "300-foot gash" that was carved into the liner. Goodale explained that the material used is one that would require considerable equipment to produce the gash Trump described. "You know, in my experience, and, you know, when I heard that it had been vandalized as well, my reaction was surprise as I really tried to understand the mechanism of damage that would cause this kind of vandalism," he said. Goodale said it would be noticeable and require advanced equipment like power tools."This is a robust, strong puncture-proof material," Goodale said of the lining installed by Virginia-based contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings. "That's why it was likely chosen for this application. It's why it's used in commercial and industrial applications. So it would take, absolutely, a concerted effort. I don't know exactly — what it would take, but it would take a concerted effort to cause significant damage like that."In an earlier conversation, CNN reporter Manu Raju called on the White House to release footage of the vandalism that caused the gash.
The Department of the Interior on Monday said five individuals were arrested in connection to reports of vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. “Five individuals have been arrested for vandalism. Five additional individuals were issued federal citations,” a department spokesperson told The Hill. The spokesperson said a total of 14 police reports have been…
CNN's Tom Foreman sounded surprised at his own reporting as he provided an update on the ongoing Reflecting Pool saga.President Donald Trump has blamed vandals for the problems that have plagued his $14 million renovation of the pool, which turned green with an algae bloom once it was refilled following a paint job that is already deteriorating. At least five people have been arrested for taking chunks of the damaged materials from the water."The only name we really know is a former Olympian, David Hearn, a local guy here, and he said he went by and all he did was reach in there," Foreman told "The Situation Room." "He is competing in the slalom canoe for the United States of America. He said he's a material scientist; he studied material science. He reached into the water just to touch this, to see what it was like, to see what this material was like, where it was already loose, and then they came along and they arrested him for this.""Part of the question here is," Foreman added, "if they're arresting him for that being damage, just because he touched it, as he said, the question is, what about the dozens and dozens of workers who have been in there day after day, walking all over it, pushing these little vacuum things all over it, potentially, that causes damage to."Foreman then described the ongoing efforts to undo the damage in time for the July 4 celebrations, which are less than two weeks away, and he seemed caught off guard by the latest developments."In any event, the algae is not under control," he said. "It's still there as of this morning, even though they're trying to get it cleared up, and now they're talking about maybe having to drain the whole thing and start over, literally putting tax money, well, figuratively, I guess, down the drain."Foreman then explained why Trump seemed so focused on fixing the damage his update had caused."He ridiculed all former presidents, saying all their efforts were just foolish, a waste of money, and I can do it for less than $2 million," Foreman said. "It ended up costing seven times that much, and so far shows no signs of working any better than anything that was tried before." - YouTube youtu.be
