National Park Service Confirms Knife Damage to Reflecting Pool Liner
The National Park Service has confirmed that a liner at the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington was cut with a sharp knife or razor earlier this month, according to a court filing made public on June 25, 2026. The agency reported the incident to U.S. Park Police on June 9 after discovering damage to foam sealant installed during a $16 million rehabilitation, deputy director of operations Frank Lands said in the document. The disclosure, which also noted about 70 fence post tops thrown into the pool, comes as the Trump administration faces criticism over the project’s outcome and a nonprofit lawsuit seeking to halt the work.
Lands submitted the statement as part of a lawsuit filed by The Cultural Landscape Foundation in May to stop further renovations at the site, PBS NewsHour reported. It provides the first detailed public record of intentional damage following completion of the project, which the park service rushed ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations next month. The police report described cuts to caulk over the foam sealant along with destruction of delaminating surface material, Lands stated.
The renovation, completed in early June after the pool was drained, included installation of a tinted polyurea liner to waterproof the concrete and painting the bottom what President Donald Trump called “American flag blue,” an Associated Press report detailed. Costs reached approximately $16 million, including a $14.7 million contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings and $1.7 million to Green Water Solutions for a purification system, according to federal contracting data cited by PBS. Since refilling, the pool has suffered an algae bloom and peeling of the new coating, prompting Trump to blame vandals for a lengthy gash and fertilizer contamination without initially offering evidence.
The Interior Department has reported at least five arrests and five federal citations connected to pool vandalism along with 14 police reports filed, according to statements relayed by NBC News and other outlets. U.S. Park Police released surveillance video showing a person reaching into the water and appealed for the public’s help identifying the individual. Trump doubled down on his claims this week, promising repairs would begin immediately after the July 4 holiday and threatening long prison terms for those responsible, ABC News reported.
The Reflecting Pool, which stretches more than 2,000 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, was constructed in the 1920s and has long experienced leaks, structural issues and algae growth, National Park Service historical summaries show. A prior renovation finished in 2012 cost about $34 million, made the basin shallower to conserve water and addressed many chronic problems, the Guardian noted in its coverage drawing on AP figures. The current project ballooned roughly $4 million over initial estimates as the administration accelerated work for the 2026 semiquincentennial.
Democratic lawmakers including Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley have called for investigations into the no-bid contracts and labeled the effort a waste of taxpayer money, according to statements carried by multiple wire services. The Cultural Landscape Foundation argued in court that the administration bypassed required consultations with preservation experts. Lands indicated the park service plans to drain the pool once more after Independence Day to assess and repair the liner damage.
The filing stops short of identifying suspects or classifying the June 9 incident as confirmed vandalism, though it aligns with the administration’s broader assertions. Congressional Democrats have sought accountability for the project’s execution, citing residual algae from reactivated lines as one factor in post-renovation complications, an Interior Department spokesperson told reporters. No timeline or additional cost estimates for the upcoming repairs have been released.
