National Park Service employees on Tuesday were seen pouring a bleaching agent into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, apparently to kill algae that had sprouted up shortly after the completion of a $14.2 million renovation commissioned by President Donald Trump.

The bleaching of the pool was spotted by CBS News journalist Bob Kovach, who posted video of workers dumping 12% hydrogen peroxide into the water.

This morning at the reflecting pool pic.twitter.com/uygkbcn7Mn
— bob kovach (@bkovoDC) June 16, 2026

The pool in recent days has turned a bright green due to algae growth, which threatened to spoil Trump’s effort to make it appear “American flag blue” ahead of the celebrations of the country’s 250th anniversary next month.

As noted by The New Republic, 12% hydrogen peroxide is strong enough to “cause problems if inhaled and burns if the chemical touches the skin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

“Hydrogen peroxide is generally considered less environmentally destructive as its compounds readily break down in water,” The New Republic added, “but the high concentration could nonetheless pose a risk to some of the pool’s frequent visitors, such as ducks or other birds.”

Michael O’Brien, a Washington DC-based primary care pediatrician, expressed skepticism that the plan to dump bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the pool would succeed in fixing the algae problem.

“Y’all, not to be a huge nerd but for the reflecting pool you would need a minimum of about 8,000 liters of 12% hydrogen peroxide to reach the 50 parts per million concentration to kill algae,” O’Brien wrote. “Is this what happens when you have zero scientists in your administration?”

NOTUS reporter Igor Bobic, upon seeing the chemical being dumped into the pool, remarked it was a “bad day to be a duck.”

A Fox News reporter on the scene tried to put a good spin on the pool being green by pointing out that “there’s pool guys cleaning it up,” and then exclaiming, “No other president would do that!”

FOX: I’m here at the newly renovated reflecting pool. It’s painted American flag blue. The Democrats will tell you there’s green algae. There’s pool guys cleaning it up. No other president would do that. pic.twitter.com/19MzxnEcq5
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 16, 2026

Trump’s efforts to renovate the reflecting pool raised eyebrows even before it became overrun by algae. According to a Tuesday report in The Guardian, the pool was renovated by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which received a no-bid contract from the Trump administration after having “previously carried out work on a swimming pool at one of the president’s golf clubs.”

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