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