Algae turns reflecting pool green after $15 million spent to make water blueThe National Park Service is out in force trying to clean algae that's turning the newly repainted r...
Cleaning up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
has been one of President Donald Trump's pet projects. In April, he
said he would clean up the massive pool within a week and for about $1
million.
About three months -- and more than $15 million later -- the project looks to be in trouble.
Just Wednesday night, Trump's Department of Interior declared
in a social media statement that "advanced nanobubbler technology" had
"very effectively killed the algae" that has plagued the Reflecting Pool
for years. "The Reflecting Pool water is crystal clear," the statement
declared, but then continued, "our National Park Service team is now
vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the
Reflecting Pool -- just like the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the
bottom of the Persian Gulf."
A
piece of what appears to be the American Flag Blue liner recently
installed at the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seen
above the surface of the water on June 18, 2026.
Elise Spenner/ABC News
When ABC News visited
the Reflecting Pool Thursday afternoon, we found it filled with gunk
and green algae-infused water. And a new problem has emerged; the
"American flag blue" paint job appears to be falling apart -- some of it
peeling away from the bottom of the pool.
ABC
News has asked the Interior Department for comment about the peeling
paint and reached out to the contractor that did the work, but they did
not immediately comment.
Members of the National Park Service clean algae from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, June 18, 2026.
Rahmat Gul/AP Photo
Algae
bloomed late last week just days after the completion of the
renovation, turning the pool from deep blue to green and murky. A DOI
spokesperson told CNN in a statement that the algae was "residual" and
came from reactivated supply lines.
DOI
deployed both a hydrogen peroxide treatment and the nanobubble ozone
technology, a spokesperson said, to rid the pool of algae blooms that
have discolored the landmark and marred the rollout of the renovation
project.
The nanobubble process releases tiny gas bubbles filled with ozone into the water, which helps to eliminate algae blooms.
The DOI spokesperson wrote that the hydrogen peroxide would have "no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment."
National
Park Service employees and contractors use vacuums to remove green
algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, June 18,
2026 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Contracts
to resurface the reflecting pool and replace its filtration system were
awarded without going through a competitive bidding process, arguing
the country's impending 250th anniversary celebrations created an
"unusual and compelling urgency."
"[D]elaying
the award long enough to conduct a competitive procurement would
prevent the National Park Service from completing the work in time to
reopen the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool for the Nation's 250th
anniversary event series," the Department of the Interior said in
contracting documents. "This delay would result in serious injury to the
Government, including failure to meet statutory visitor-safety
responsibilities and operational commitments for the 250th."
ABC News' Elise Spenner, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
The
basic training facility for the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas, is
experiencing a flu outbreak following the end of mandatory vaccination
for all service members.
As
of Wednesday, there are at least 159 known cases among recruits and two
hospitalizations among recruits at Lackland Air Force Base at Joint
Base San Antonio, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
One source told ABC News the number of cases and hospitalizations may be
higher.
The outbreak comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in April that the annual flu vaccine would be optional for all U.S. military personnel, both active and reserve.
Previously,
the flu vaccine was mandatory, but the new policy is in line with a
previous change of making the COVID-19 vaccine optional.
The Pentagon has granted the military services exceptions to the policy, so the flu vaccine can be required in certain cases.
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An
Air Force spokesperson confirmed the outbreak to ABC News and said in a
statement that over the last three weeks there has been a "localized
influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training."
"Medical
professionals and Public Health officials have implemented mitigation
measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees to reduce further
exposure and continue to monitor the situation," the statement read.
"Medical personnel are also monitoring trainees who were in close
contact with sick members in case they become symptomatic."
Front
view of the Chapman Training Annex entry gate in San Antonio, Texas,
Aug. 17, 2024. The Chapman Training Annex is a part of Joint Base San
Antonio.
Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via Reuters
The spokesperson said symptomatic trainees are receiving "the appropriate care" including antiviral medications such as Tamiflu.
"Once they are cleared by medical professionals they will return to training," the statement said.
Additionally, the death of a recruit at the base is under investigation, according to an Air Force statement. Keon McDaniel was in his sixth week of Basic Military Training when he experienced a medical emergency on June 12.
He was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he subsequently passed away. The
cause of the medical emergency is currently under investigation, and a
comprehensive medical review is being conducted to determine the facts,
according to the Air Force. It's unclear if his death is linked to the
flu outbreak.
Earlier this year, when Hegseth ended mandatory vaccination, he referred to the policy as "overly broad and not rational."
"Our
new policy is simple: If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend
this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then
you are free to take it; you should. But we will not force you,"
Hegseth said.
The
sources told ABC News that there is 40% flu vaccination rate among
recruits at the San Antonio base since the mandate was lifted.
Previously, the rate was nearly 100%.
Chief
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told ABC News that the Defense
Department recently granted exceptions to the policy for the Army, Navy,
Air Force, National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Health Agency
(DHA) through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness.
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"The
decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to
maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while
safeguarding at-risk populations," Parnell said. "The Army, Navy, Air
Force, NSA, and DHA are responsible for implementing the [exceptions to
the policy]. The Department remains committed to the health and
readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel."
The annual flu vaccine is currently recommended
to everyone over 6 months old between September and the start of
November. Although the typical flu season ends by February or March,
people can become infected at any time.
People
who travel internationally or live in group settings are at higher risk
of transmitting and acquiring infectious diseases.
Public
health specialists have warned that military members may suffer
unnecessary complications from the flu after the vaccination mandate was
ended and fear that severe cases will continue to climb in subsequent
flu seasons if preventive vaccinations aren't given to those most at
risk.
Evidence
has shown that young recruits are much more vulnerable to severe
infection from influenza compared to other service members, though lower
than the general population due to the military having historically
high immunization rates.
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A study published last year by the Defense Health Agencyfound
that from the 2010-2011 to the 2023-2024 flu seasons, the highest rate
of influenza hospitalizations among active service members were among
those under the age of 25, especially young recruits.
An Influenza Vaccine is prepared for a patient, Sept. 12, 2025, in Coral Gables, Fla.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The
flu vaccine has been required for the military since 1945, at the end
of World War II, partly tied to the threat of biological warfare use by
rival nations and as well as the devastation that the flu pandemic of
1918-1920 wreaked on U.S. troops, according to a 2022 analysis from Wright State University in Ohio and the U.S. Air Force.
After researchers noticed the effectiveness of the vaccine fading,
the mandate was withdrawn in 1949. This was later found to be caused by
abrupt and major changes to the flu virus -- and the mandate was
reinstated in the early 1950s after the changes became "clearer and
combatable," according to the analysis.
Compliance among military health care personnel has exceeded 95% in past years, compared to less than 75% among civilian health care personnel.
