CNN plumbs depths of 'green as heck' Reflecting Pool's algae infestation

President Donald Trump poured more than $14 million into a Reflecting Pool renovation that was completed earlier this month, but its refilling has been plagued by an intense algae bloom, and CNN wanted to get to the bottom of it.

The 300,000-square-foot pool has turned an increasingly murky shade of green, and the Department of Interior has sent crews to dump gallons of hydrogen peroxide and deploy special equipment to clean up the problem that's been a scourge to administrations for decades, reported CNN.

"President Trump hoped to turn the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool, what he called the 'American flag blue' – that's the color he wanted for the water," said "CNN News Central" co-host Sara Sidner. "But right now it's green as heck."

She turned to her colleague Betsy Kleini, who delved into the problem.

"The pool [is] growing increasingly murky and green by the day, and CNN even took an independent sample of this water last week," Klein said. "We consulted with a pool store, it showed that phosphate levels were far higher than what's recommended to keep algae at bay, and since then, it only got greener."

Algae expert Barrett Brooks, a researcher at The Smithsonian Institution, explained why the pool was the perfect environment for algae.

"This is a shallow pool with stagnant water, abundant sunlight – that creates a situation where opportunistic algae can really take advantage of the situation," Brooks said. "If there's already some phosphate fertilizer in the water, that's really opportunistic, especially for the blue-green algae that can fix nitrogen, so especially for the blue-green algae – they are having a field day out here, probably."

The administration crews clad in hip waders to vacuum up clumps of algae, Klein reported, and the Department of Interior intends to use an ozone nanobubbler to vacuum up the algae bloom, but the problem persists.

"This morning, it's still extremely green," Klein said. "This project, we know, has been a major priority for President Trump. He personally traveled into that drained pool in his motorcade to inspect its progress. The White House didn't respond to our inquiry as to whether the president is aware of these cleanup efforts, surprised by the presence of algae or if he's talked to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about it. But this is something that has plagued many administrations, including back in 2012, when the Obama administration spent $34 million over 18 months only to have major algae issues."

"Around that time, the National Park Service found 80 dead ducks inside the pool," she added. "But ultimately, the Interior Department says that the nanobubbler and a full-time maintenance crew from the Fish and Wildlife Services are going to make these fixes more permanent."

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