Donald Trump unveiled the completed repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on 2 November, ending months of work to fix a failed blue chemical coating that had caused widespread algae growth. The project required workers to drain the 2,000-foot-long pool, remove the damaged coating and apply a new sealant. The work has drawn strong criticism after the cost rose to more than $14 million in federal contracts. This is far above the government’s original estimate of less than $2 million. Built in 1923, the pool holds more than 6.7 million gallons of water and is one of the most visited places in the US capital.
Speaking to people gathered at the National Mall, Trump praised the finished work and said the pool had been returned to its historic condition. “We took out the dirty water, we cleaned it up, and now it looks like crystal,” Trump said during the ceremony. “It is back to the way Abraham Lincoln would have wanted it. The repairs follow years of problems with the pool’s structure and appearance.
A fact-check published by FactCheck.org in June 2026 found that Trump had repeatedly given higher-than-actual figures for previous spending on the pool when explaining the need for the latest contracts. In earlier public statements, Trump claimed that previous administrations had wasted more than $30 million on small repairs without fixing the algae problem. However, FactCheck.org found that total federal spending on the reflecting pool between 2010 and 2024 was about $34 million. This included a major $30.7 million reconstruction completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 2012. FactCheck.org reported that the latest maintenance work was first expected to cost less than $2 million. However, changes to the contracts later pushed the total value of government contracts for the current project above $14 million. The Guardian reported on 2 November 2026 that opposition lawmakers and public interest groups had criticised the rising costs. The 2012 reconstruction was designed to bring water directly from the Potomac River into the pool. Despite these improvements, the pool suffered repeated outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae in 2017 and 2019.
Park Service officials said the pool’s shallow depth, hot summer weather and large amounts of natural waste make it difficult to keep the water clear. “The reflecting pool is a massive, static body of water exposed to the elements,” said National Park Service spokesperson Carol Johnson in a statement detailed in historical maintenance reports. “Keeping nearly seven million gallons of water pristine without over-using harsh chemicals requires constant mechanical balance.”
The growing cost of the project has become a major concern for government oversight groups and policy experts. That project replaced the pool’s original shallow foundation with deep concrete supports driven into the bedrock. The work was designed to stop the pool from sinking into the marshland underneath it. The money was meant to cover routine resurfacing and algae control. They pointed to the project as an example of poor control over government spending ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The National Mall has faced long-running problems with maintaining its artificial pools and other water features. It also included an advanced filtration system built underground. Both incidents required the pool to be drained completely. Each cleanup cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Leaves, other organic material and waste from birds also add to the problem.
The Guardian reported that administration officials defended the spending.
They said the additional money was needed to fix poor work from earlier maintenance projects and provide a lasting solution for one of the National Mall’s most important landmarks. The completion of the repairs comes as political activity increases across the country ahead of the US midterm elections. Trump’s decision to hold an official ceremony at the monument attracted criticism from political opponents. They argued that the event was designed to highlight the administration’s public works achievements while drawing attention away from the project’s rising costs. The pool has now been filled with water again and reopened to the public. Automated filtration systems are operating around the clock to monitor the water and help prevent another outbreak of algae.