Device installed to help keep Trump's Reflecting Pool clear of algae was never used on a pool: report

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Monday 29 June 2026 12:20 EDT


The device used to clear the algae outbreak from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following President Trump’s troubled refurbishment has never previously been used on a pool, according to a report. The $1.7 million “ozone nanobubbler” operates by shooting 500 million microscopic bubbles of oxygen into every teaspoon of water in order to blast apart algae, bacteria and other unwanted contaminants.

However, the tech is just five-years-old and has only been tried out by its manufacturer Greenwater Services on waterway projects like the Tijuana River, Ohio’s Lake Newport and Florida’s Port Mayaca, CNN reports. Greenwater explained to the network that it had faced a tight deadline to clear the pool in time for this coming weekend’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Because the nanobubbler in question was still being built at its Ohio plant when the process of refilling the 6.5 million pool began on June 4, it had sent in four temporary versions of the technology for use until the permanent model was ready. Visible from the surface, the temporary devices were installed on June 6, together using the same amount of power as the permanent system, only to be removed on June 12 for a short period at the request of the National Park Service, which reportedly did not give a reason.

It was at this point that the algae blooms first materialized, encouraged by the warm, muggy summer weather in Washington, D.C., turning the water a lurid green color. The New York Times has previously reported that problems with the stopgap devices may also have played a part in the spread of the water weed.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-reflecting-pool-algae-technology-b3005166.html

[underpants]

1. Last minute and half assed.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Shallow pool. dark lining, hot weather, and Potomac water.

Who could have imagined that algae would bloom?

[pat_k]

5. And Rhino Pipeliner 5000 "coating" subject to degradation in sunlight and surface "bubbling" that's provides an

... environment that is conducive to the growth of things like algae.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/how-the-reflecting-pool-turned-green-missing-bubblers-and-a-rush-job/

A crucial decision came in early April, when the administration awarded a no-bid contract to a Virginia-based company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings to spread the waterproofing blue coating on the pool’s concrete slabs. That coating, known as Rhino Pipeliner 5000, may be peeling off because it is not stretchy or flexible enough, said Anthony Flett, the CEO of U.S. Coating Specialists, a Florida-based company that specializes in waterproofing substances.

“They used a hybrid polyurea, and they really should have picked a pure poly,” Flett said, adding, “There’s people in the pool industry whose whole life is polyurea, and they should have been called in.”

Tim Auerhahn, the chair of the Aquatic Council LLC, a consulting firm for the pool and hot-tub industry, said in an email that Rhino Pipeliner 5000 is usually used to line the inside of pipes.

“The manufacturer’s technical literature indicates it may be suitable for certain waterproofing and protective coating applications beyond pipe rehabilitation,” he said, “but it does not specifically identify large ornamental water features, swimming pools or granite-lined basins like the reflecting pool as primary use cases.”

Rhino Pipeliner 5000 is made by a California-based company called Rhino Linings. Pierre Gagnon, the company’s CEO, said in an email that the peeling “is limited to isolated areas of the finish layer and does not affect the underlying waterproofing membrane.”

[lonely bird]

10. OK

Hybrid polyureas are materials that utilize a blend of polyol and amine.. A pure polyurea uses only amines. Hybrids most certainly can be formulated to resist the impact of water.

The claim that pure polyureas are resistant to moisture during applications centers, imo, around the set times which can be as fast as 3 seconds. This does minimize the reaction with moisture but it also can result in failure to wet out the substrate which can lead to poor adhesion. In addition, if a substrate such as concrete contains water a polyurea will have potentially have adhesion problems. Therefore, primers are recommended in such a situation. Many times they are epoxy primers.

Other factors such as surface preparation and the application method come into play as well. Preparing a concrete surface to an ICRI CSP5 and higher can result in micro fractures of the concrete which can cause less than satisfactory adhesion. If the spray equipment is off ratio or the material is not sufficiently heated then problems can occur.

My issue with the choice of the material is that it is an aromatic. Aromatics are not UV stable.

[wyn borkins]

3. How Many Bubbles in the Reflecting Pool

500,000,000 bubbles per teaspoon

775 teaspoons per gallon

7,000,000 gallon pool

So 500,000,000 x 775 x 7,000,000

Equals 2.7125e+18 ( = ??? )

(Need bigger calculator)

[Journeyman]

9. However many bubbles it may be, it'll ruin any reflecting capabilities . . .

Placid water is the preferred state for clear reflections.

[dave99]

4. "only to be removed on June 12 for a short period at the request of the National Park Service, which reportedly

did not give a reason."

shitstain did not like how the temp units looked, such is what an asshole does with its time

[Scruffy1]

6. They are dealing with two different algaes.

The nano bubblers and h2o2 worked good on the blue green algae. Later the green algae moved in and it's a different thing to deal with. This was determined by someone who took an actual water sample to a lab. The green algae moved in after the oxygen machines were shut down. This article is written so poorly that it makes no sense.

[BidenRocks]

7. Everybody in the pool!

More Beans, Mr. Taggart!

[taxi]

8. On a similar note, now we know how many holes it takes ...

"4,000 holes"
Lennon, who wrote the song's final verse, was inspired by a Far & Near news brief, in the same 17 January edition of the Daily Mail that had inspired the first two verses.[20] Under the headline "The holes in our roads", the brief stated: "There are 4,000 holes in the road in Blackburn, Lancashire, or one twenty-sixth of a hole per person, according to a council survey. If Blackburn is typical, there are two million holes in Britain's roads and 300,000 in London."[21]


In his lyrics, Lennon mentions the Royal Albert Hall, a symbol of Victorian-era London and a concert venue usually associated with classical music performances.
The story had been sold to the Daily Mail in Manchester by Ron Kennedy of the Star News agency in Blackburn. Kennedy had noticed a Lancashire Evening Telegraph story about road excavations and in a telephone call to the Borough Engineer's department had checked the annual number of holes in the road.[22] Lennon had a problem with the words of the final verse, however, not being able to think of how to connect "Now they know how many holes it takes to" and "the Albert Hall". His friend Terry Doran suggested that the holes would "fill" the Albert Hall, and the lyric was eventually used.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_in_the_Life

https://m.