Grandpa Pudding Brains' Lincoln Memorial Algae Farm may be ugly, expensive, and very funny, but Swimming Pool Steve says it is not especially mysterious.
After two CNN appearances about the green water situation, Swimming Pool Steve posted a longer explanation of what he thinks happens next. His diagnosis: new pond syndrome. When a clear-water natural lake system, like the Reflecting Pool, is restarted, the aquatic environment is a blank slate. Fast-developing algae can bloom before slower microbial systems, beneficial bacteria, biofilms, and competing algae strains have time to establish themselves.
That does not make the blue-paint fiasco less ridiculous. The Reflecting Pool was just refilled after a multimillion-dollar renovation, and crews are already treating the bloom with hydrogen peroxide and ozone "nanobubbles." WTOP reports that the algae started growing after the refill, and AP reports that the pool's "American flag blue" bottom turned chartreuse just days after the more-than-$14 million makeover.
It also remains to be seen if an equilibrium can be found with nano-bubblers and dudes pouring H2O2 into the pool.
Basically, Trump screwed up a national monument and a balanced ecology.
Previously:
• As usual, Trump has now never heard of his close personal reflecting pool guy
• Grandpa Pudding Brains unveils 'our pool is bigger than skyscrapers' chart
• Trump's Reflecting Pool makeover meets instant graffiti backlash
• Grandpa Pudding Brains algae-filled improvements
• Trump just killed the Reflecting Pool's iconic mirror effect
