/----/ Since you're too chicken to answer...
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was renovated under President Obama in 2012 at a cost of approximately $34 million and it failed
The reason the pool
continued to experience persistent leaks and water quality issues stems from two main underlying problems that the 2012 project did not permanently solve:
1. Underground Plumbing Failures (The Major Culprit)
While the pool basin itself was completely rebuilt, the renovation did not adequately resolve issues with the vast network of
underground plumbing and delivery pipes connecting the pool to its water treatment plant.
- The Pipe Problem: The 12-inch plastic pipes running beneath the site frequently crack and break due to shifting pressure from the heavy, unstable marshy soil.
- The Domino Effect: According to National Park Service officials, when these supply lines leak, it becomes nearly impossible to maintain the water level needed for a proper reflection. Furthermore, fixing these underground pipes requires completely shutting the pool off from its filtration plant for weeks at a time.
2.
The 2012 project successfully switched the pool's water source to the nearby Tidal Basin to save millions of gallons of potable city water. However, this introduced a new, unforeseen environmental challenge:
- The Water Source: The Tidal Basin naturally carries a high concentration of algae.
- Perfect Growing Conditions: Because the 2012 design made the pool shallower to reduce overall weight on the unstable ground, the warmer, shallower water combined with the Tidal Basin supply created the perfect breeding ground for massive algae blooms.
- Stagnation: Because the filtration system has to be turned off whenever the underground plumbing leaks need repair, the water frequently sits stagnant, accelerating the growth of green slime.
