Trump's Algae Crisis Solution: Douse It in Bleach
The Trump administration has decided to combat the algae infestation in the Reflecting Pool with a shocking choice: bleach.
Workers clad in neon vests were spotted dumping hydrogen peroxide into the 2,000-foot pool, which turned green just days after the president's $14 million renovation was completed.
Images reveal crews unloading large boxes filled with the cleaning solution at various points around the pool's edge.
A closer look at the materials shows that workers utilized a 12 percent concentration of hydrogen peroxide, a substance the CDC warns can cause respiratory issues and chemical burns. High concentrations also pose risks to wildlife, including ducks that frequent the area.
“I think it’s a mess. I’ve never seen it this green before,” one local resident remarked. “I was expecting green, but it’s a little greener than I thought it would be,” he added.
Just days prior, the Trump administration had completed its resurfacing project, which was promised to be painted “American flag blue.” Workers had been laboring inside the drained basin for over a month. The initial cost estimate was $2 million, but it ballooned to $14 million.
After Trump touted his refurbishment as a significant achievement, visitors and photographers noted that the water had taken on a distinct green hue as algae began to proliferate. On Monday, Park Service workers were seen wading into the pool to remove clumps of green growth.
In response to the algae problem, an Interior Department spokesperson took a jab at Trump's Democratic predecessors while asserting that the algae issue was being addressed.
“Unlike under Obama and Biden, the National Park Service is actually maintaining the beautifully completed Reflecting Pool,” the spokesperson stated. “To keep the water in the Reflecting Pool not only crystal clear but also clean, we are deploying high-tech nanobubble ozone technology. This technology is actively killing algae, pathogens (e.g., E. coli), and contaminants that have long plagued the Reflecting Pool since 1922, most infamously, the Obama pool reopening that resulted in massive algae clumps taking over the pool’s surface following years of construction that cost taxpayers millions upon millions only to be broken and disgusting days later.”
They also confirmed that hydrogen peroxide was being used, labeling it “a milder treatment than chlorine,” which supposedly has “no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”
Earlier this week, it was disclosed that another major project, the White House ballroom, is expected to exceed budget significantly.
In March, the contractor informed the administration that total costs would reach $600 million — with at least half anticipated to be covered by taxpayers. The same month, Trump claimed that the expansive ballroom would cost $400 million and be funded entirely by private donations.
