Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Everything the orange clown touches turns to shit. Trump lies as usual, claiming without evidence that someone is vandalizing it. lol How do you vandalize a 338,000 sq ft reflecting pool?

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) -" The ​paint on Washington's newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Thursday was ‌peeling away from the bottom and into the algae-tinted water, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump announced the job's completion.

The historic pool was drained and refinished in a $14.7 million no-bid contract this year as part of ​Trump's sweeping plans to remake the U.S.'s capital city, which includes tearing down the ​East Wing of the White House to make space for a new ballroom ⁠and building a massive arch near Arlington National Cemetery, which honors the nation's war ​dead and other prominent Americans.

Trump announced on June 6 that work on the pool had finished. ​By Tuesday, workers had started pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool to combat an algae bloom that had turned it green, instead of the expected dark blue.

The National Park Service, which operates the National Mall, where ​the pool is located, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Atlantic Industrial ​Coatings, the Virginia-based company that carried out the renovations, also did not immediately respond."--- https://www.reuters.com/world/us/paint-i...026-06-18/

Meh. A continual struggle against nature, maybe, but given that this has occurred with other pool renovations in the past, it seems too much a coincidence to ignore that association. Large amount of new water coming in loaded with algae nutrients, after the pool was drained for a paint job.
- - - - - - - - - -

What's going on with the Reflecting Pool?: Experts say the algae problem is likely a product of Mother Nature. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, says something more nefarious is afoot, and that those who are responsible will be held accountable. [...] Algae at the pool has been a recurring issue for decades.

[...] In 2010, a major project to update the pool began, lasting two years and costing $34 million. Algae was an instant problem again after that renovation. Algae blooms have plagued "every pool reopening since 1922," the Department of the Interior previously said in a statement to USA TODAY.

A water treatment expert speaks about the Reflecting Pool: The green pool quickly became an online spectacle, and scientists began weighing in on what the color could reveal about the water. Scientific American spoke with one of them—Ashley Bair, a senior research developer at Usalco, which makes coagulants and other water-treatment chemicals. Bair got her Ph.D. studying cyanobacteria. In the conversation, she explained what might be happening in the Reflecting Pool and what can be done about it.

When you first saw images of the Reflecting Pool turned green, what did you think?

Honestly, my pool turns green all the time, so it didn't shock me. We could have predicted it, but there's no guarantee that it was going to happen.

Why would algae bloom in a place like the Reflecting Pool?

The algae are either eukaryotic algae, such as green algae, or cyanobacteria, which are bacterial algae, or a combination of the two. But no matter what they are, they need nutrients to grow. So they need light for photosynthesis, nutrients, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and some warmth for there to be any biochemical activity that allows them to happen. At this time of year, though, there's plenty of light, and there's plenty of heat.

How much of the bloom would you pin on the heat?

I know people are associating the painting of the bottom of the pool as causing more heat in the water. And maybe it increased the temperature slightly, but there's plenty of heat in Washington, D.C., right now to fuel an algal bloom. So I do not believe that that was a major factor in this bloom.

In fact, back in 2012, when the pool was refilled, the same thing happened, and it hadn't been painted at the time, right? So really what's fueling this, the only thing that's going to be limiting an algal bloom this time of year, are nutrients.

[...] If phosphates are basically alga food, why would the water in the Reflecting Pool have phosphates in it?

From what I understand, [the National Park Service] converted the pool to fill from the Tidal Basin back in 2009. And I believe they did that so that they wouldn't have to go to the expense of using the city water supply, especially when you're completely refilling that pool at 6.5 million gallons. The Tidal Basin fills from the Potomac River, so it's natural water and can contain some runoff contaminants.

There can be high levels of phosphate from [pollution] point sources or from agricultural runoff, which is a big issue.

Trump is posting military guards at the reflecting pool. lol

Could go with an "Emperors new clothes" approach. From now on the pool looks pristine and clear, with a hint of blue and there is nothing wrong with it. (Doing that would save the tax payer money trying to sort it out)

As for "Vandalism", is it possible that someone that Trump ran their tent over in the park(Washington eviction) might of held a grudge?

So Homeless guy slashing the $13mil pool renewal cost vs Trump the cost of a Walmart marquee/tent. (Homeless guy won that round)

The metaphor is not lost on me: Trump's expensive attempt to see more clearly his narcissistically-captivating reflection in a pool without properly "reflecting" on the dire consequences of such. Beguiled by his own "echoing" yes-men, he falls into the pond and drowns.