As commenter “physicsguy” writes:

Report on my leftist friends: they are obsessed with the Reflecting pool and algae growth there. They see it as evidence of what an idiot Trump is and how it’s all his fault.

For many, the fact that Trump still draws breath is an affront, and evidence of what an idiot he is. However, as far as the Reflecting Pool renovations go, there have been arrests of five people for sabotage – although the NBC article I just linked says the arrests are “with no evidence so far.” There’s more information on that at this article:

As of June 21, the identity of one person who was arrested has emerged.

David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was arrested by U.S. Park Police on June 19 and charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property, the Washington Post first reported. Hearn did not immediately return USA TODAY’s request to speak on June 21.

Hearn told the Post he reached into the Reflecting Pool and was able to “grab” the end of a “flapping piece,” but didn’t remove it.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” the 67-year-old told the outlet. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

U.S. Park Police did not return USA TODAY’s request for comment. When asked what they know about the arrests, D.C. Metro Police told USA TODAY to contact U.S. Park Police.

Aside from Hearn, it’s unclear who else has been arrested or what charges they might be facing. Trump said law enforcement is currently investigating.

The office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on the alleged arrests.

Speaking to Peter Doocy on Fox News’ “Sunday Briefing,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that “anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in DC.”

Pirro stopped short of commenting on arrests, or saying anyone had been arrested, but did say several citations have been issued related to the Reflecting Pool, and that those citations will be prosecuted to the full extent.

I, for one, can manage without a whole lot more detail at this point.

I find the following quite interesting, though, and could serve as something to let Facebook friends know:

Algae has resurfaced in the reflecting pool periodically over the years — including immediately after it reopened from its last major renovation in 2012, forcing the National Park Service to drain it, refill it and recalibrate its ozone level. And in 2019, crews had to drain four million gallons from the pool to fix a broken water line that had algae growing in it.

An Interior Department spokesperson told NPR over email that algae and other contaminants have “long plagued the Reflecting Pool since 1922,” pointing to the Obama-era renovation as an example.

You might want to highlight the words “Obama-era renovation.” It turns out that there was a more expensive renovation during the Obama administration and it didn’t go very well. You might suggest they take a trip back in time and look at this from August of 2012:

The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall reopened Friday after a two-year, $34 million reconstruction, completing the largest National Park Service project funded by President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. …

Now the pool has been reengineered with a circulation and filtration system. Instead of using city drinking water, it draws river water from the nearby Tidal Basin, which will save 20 million gallons of drinking water each year.

The pool is shallower — only 3 feet at its deepest point — to save water, and its bottom is tinted grey to make the water darker and more reflective of the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument. …

For two years, the massive reconstruction project shut down a large swath of the National Mall as the old pool was removed.

Sounds familiar, except it took two years and was far more expensive than Trump’s renovations (reported to have been about 14 million) – although it sounds as though what Obama did was more extensive in terms of landscaping. And what was the result of the Obama changes? Why, algae, naturally. From October of 2012, about a month after the pool was first opened after the renovation:

The newly-renovated reflecting pool was drained of water this week after ABC7 reported that unsightly algae and scum was creeping into it.

It comes less than two weeks after the algae was discovered growing on the water, something that isn’t supposed to happen after the multimillion dollar renovation.

The algae was noticed at one end of the reflecting pool in late September. It almost completely covered the surface of the water.

The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall reopened at the end of August after a two-year, $34 million reconstruction. It was the largest National Park Service project funded by President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package.

Here’s the explanation for the algae at that time:

The Park Service says the Tidal Basin water isn’t chemically treated. Instead, it’s treated with ozone. The level of ozone, however, needs to be adjusted to prevent the algae from forming, but tweaking the levels post-bloom and trying to skim it off wasn’t working fast enough.

“Because we didn’t have it right at the beginning, the algae established itself,” says Carol Johnson, spokesperson for the National Park Service. “Algae doubles in size every four hours so it is a formidable foe.”

I have little doubt that Trump’s Obama-admiring critics will have the creativity to come up a reason why that is so different, and why Obama is brilliant while Trump is still an idiot. But to me, the whole thing indicates that the Reflecting Pool seems to want to grow algae.

More on the present situation, including some scientific background:

The Trump administration is using a mix of mitigation strategies, including pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to kill the algae.

The Interior Department says hydrogen peroxide is a “milder treatment than chlorine and is used in spas and specialty pools like natural swimming pools,” adding “there are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”

Workers are also deploying what the department calls “high-tech nanobubble ozone technology” to neutralize algae and other pathogens in the pool.

I wish them good luck:

Rosalina Stancheva Christova, a professor of aquatic ecology at George Mason University in Virginia, took water samples from the pool on Tuesday. She confirmed the algae belongs to the genus Desmodesmus, which she said is “growing in excessive amounts” but is not toxic or harmful.

Christova says this kind of common green algae is found all over the region, especially this time of year. The reflecting pool in particular provides “excellent conditions” for algae growth, she said: shallow, stagnant water, strong sunlight and no shade.

“It could happen every single summer,” she added. “But it seems that the disturbance of the pond during the renovations [is] accelerating this process.”

It’s happened before, it will happen again – but it’s all Trump’s fault.

ADDENDUM:

Whoopi Goldberg says that the Reflecting Pool never had algae before.

And that Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.