Written by: Express Intern
4 min readJun 22, 2026 02:32 PM IST
First published on: Jun 22, 2026 at 02:29 PM IST
President Donald Trump has ordered an inspection at the Reflecting Pool in Washington after repeated attempts at vandalism, and a massive bloom of algae that turned the water bright green, despite a multi-million-dollar renovation project in DC.
Trump promised that work would resume immediately at the iconic American landmark, the BBC reported.
According to Trump, the pool will have to be drained and refilled twice a month. This announcement was made as he flew in a helicopter above the site on Sunday.
The fresh coat of blue paint used in the multi-million-dollar project was vandalised at a time when the nation is celebrating its 250th anniversary of independence.
Repeated attempts at vandalism have prompted the US Attorney for Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro, to prosecute individuals found damaging the pool.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, she said, “Anyone who is in a position of vandalising or attempting to vandalise will face the criminal justice system in DC.”
A senior official in the Trump administration confirmed that five people have been arrested on charges of vandalism, and five people received a notice from the police on Saturday.
As of now, 14 police reports have been filed, BBC’s US partner CBS confirmed. A blade made a 250-foot-long gash, destroying the reflecting pool, according to Trump.
US Park Police have not yet replied to the BBC’s email to confirm the number of arrests.
History of the reflecting pool
The reflecting pool, which is 2,030 ft (619 m) long, was built between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in the 1920s. The pool lacks infrastructural management and persistently faces issues related to leaks, deterioration, faulty pipes, algae growth, and bird droppings.
Recently, a renovation was announced and completed for $13 million, yet the lake has continued to be plagued by algae and the paint chipping out from the bottom of the pool, as documented by visitors and media, reported by the BBC
Olympian David Hearn arrested
Olympian David Hearn was arrested on Friday for his alleged involvement in the vandalism of the pool. Rejecting the accusation against him as ‘false’, Hearn, in an interview with the BBC, stated that he did not vandalise the pool but simply touched the peeling paint.
“The condition of any part of the reflecting pool didn’t change. It wasn’t affected. It was the same before I got there as when I walked away from it.” He insisted.
Officials have used hydrogen peroxide to clean the green algae bloom. A news photographer captured a dead duckling in the pool. The death of the animal and whether the harm was done to the animal due to the renovation project is yet to be confirmed.
Rosalina Stancheva Christova, a professor of aquatic ecology studying algae at George Mason University, on June 16, examined a water sample from the pool, confirming that the species is called Desmodesmus and is incapable of harming people or animals. However, if a bird visits the pool, carrying harmful bacteria, it can introduce other forms of algae, the BBC reports.
“These ecosystems are very dynamic, and the algal composition is changing really quickly, so we need to know which organisms are living there,” she says.
(The article is curated by Salonee Kulkarni, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
The fresh coat of blue paint used in the multi-million-dollar project was vandalised at a time when the nation is celebrating its 250th anniversary of its Independence Day on the 4th of July.
(Photo: Magnific) 
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