The contractor said the pool’s new blue liner peeled and tore because of “human oversight” and a flawed plan that involved layering two incompatible chemicals, documents show.
The president had insisted for weeks that the landmarks’ algae-stained waters and peeling lining were the fault of vandals, not the project itself.
The seaweed — a stinky, brown algae known as sargassum — has plagued Mexico and the broader region for more than a decade, but this year’s forecast is setting records.
And why the most patriotic approach to the Reflecting Pool may be to let the algae take over.
Bulky “nanobubbler” machines were carted off ahead of a promotional event for President Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship birthday party.