Millions more in government funding is going towards the renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The project was launched by President Donald Trump to beautify the Reflecting Pool before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations on July Fourth. The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June and faced immediate problems, including peeling blue sealant and a fierce return of green algae.
Meanwhile, questions loomed over the no-bid contracts that were awarded to vendors with prior ties to Trump. Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.”
In July, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Trump administration would not seek new contracts to fix the Reflecting Pool as questions mounted about the troubled project and the taxpayer money involved.
However, in an apparent reversal, the administration awarded a new $2.7 million contract last week to American Ag Energy, Inc., for the maintenance, repair and rebuilding of water treatment equipment at the Reflecting Pool, according to government spending data.
Richard Rosen, the founder and CEO of the company, told NBC News American Ag Energy is known for their environmental work and believed he could fix the National Park Service’s months-long battle with algae.
“I read about it in the New York Times, and I said you know what, I can fix this problem,” Rosen said.
Rosen said his company was one of five lobbying for the contract, and said the administration told him his team was selected “On merit.”
“Our goal is to have nothing growing in the water,” Rosen said.
Rosen said his team, some whom are already at work on the ground in D.C., is comprised of experts and engineers with decades of experience managing water quality in facilities around the world.
As Rosen describes it, his team is conducting a biological and chemistry profile of the Pool to understand exactly where the water is coming from, what organisms are living in the water, and how the environment around the Pool impacts the water in the pool itself.
From there, his team will enact changes to ensure the pool remains free of algae — or any other problematic organism.
The issue, he said, stems from the color of the bottom of the Reflecting Pool changing, but the chemical makeup of what was being put into the water to keep it clean staying the same.
Rosen said he believes the $2.7 million contract should be plenty to get the job done.
“I think we can do a lot of stuff for much lower cost, because we are going to focus on knowing what we’re doing,” Rosen said.
But he’s not overly confident.
“I don’t believe in anything until I actually see it work,” Rosen said.
And for the Harvard educated engineer, don’t even mention politics. For him, it’s not about that.
“I don’t want any politics in this at all,” Rosen said. “We don’t have any political motivations here. This is really science and technology and engineering.”
