2026-06-25T21:27:02.981Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
在林肯纪念堂倒影池浮出蓝色剥落涂层数月前，曾参与该水池15年前最后一次翻新工程的一家企业接到了参与本次翻新的邀约，但该企业拒绝了合作。
据为2010年倒影池翻新工程提供混凝土施工及密封产品的新泽西州西卡公司（Sika Corporation）的两名员工透露，这家企业之所以回绝，主要是无法接受两项要求：特朗普政府要求工程必须在7月4日前完工，且池底必须使用蓝色涂装。
这两名要求匿名接受CNN采访的员工表示，两项要求均令该项目“不可行”。
最终，以卡车车厢内衬闻名、官网也称可用于水务设施的犀牛衬里公司（Rhino Linings）中标，为本次倒影池翻新工程提供材料。
而该涂层在施工完成不到一个月后就出现了剥落现象，引发了华盛顿地区的轩然大波。特朗普总统指责是激进左翼破坏者所为，承包商则称问题仅出现在局部区域并承诺修复。与此同时，尽管本次翻新旨在解决藻类问题，但池水仍因藻类滋生变成了深浅不一的绿色。
特朗普坚称本次翻新取得了成功，但该项目已遭到大量批评。根据内政部授予弗吉尼亚州大西洋工业涂料公司（Atlantic Industrial Coatings）合同的摘要显示，该工程最初预估成本为180万美元，目前已涨至1470万美元。
鉴于西卡公司此前拥有倒影池翻新经验，其拒绝该合同的决定此前未被报道过，这或将进一步加剧外界对该项目仓促上马、可能存在不当施工的批评声音。
众议院监督委员会最高民主党议员罗伯特·加西亚（Robert Garcia）周三致信负责本次翻新工程的承包商，要求提供合同、水质记录等相关信息。
“唐纳德·特朗普对我们国家倒影池的灾难性翻新是他又一个失败的面子工程，”加西亚在一份声明中说道，“总统应该专注于让美国民众的生活更负担得起，而不是用政府合同奖励他的忠实支持者，在失败项目上浪费纳税人的钱。我们要求承包商直面该项目的失败，给出解释。”
西卡公司未回复CNN的置评请求。
围绕倒影池的风波引发了总统本人和网络侦探们对问题成因的各种猜测。
上周五，特朗普首次附和了右翼圈子流传的说法，称水池出现的一系列问题是蓄意破坏所致。特朗普此前多次在缺乏证据的情况下提出指控，包括声称水池存在数百英尺长的裂缝。
周三晚间，美国司法部在一份法庭文件中称，水池泡沫密封胶上的填缝剂被“锋利的刀具或剃刀”割开，约70根围栏柱的顶部被扔进了水池。该文件是由非营利组织文化景观基金会提起的诉讼的一部分，该组织指控政府官员为完成翻新工程绕过了监管程序。
近日，游客和当地居民纷纷涌入该地点，拍摄藻类滋生和蓝色涂层剥落的照片与视频。警方已至少逮捕6名涉嫌破坏者，并向至少7人发出了联邦传票。
至少一名被捕的破坏者、美国三届奥运选手戴维·赫恩（David Hearn）告诉CNN，他当时只是触碰了一块从本次翻新工程中部分脱落的蓝色材料。
网络评论员还猜测，涂层施工后不久，重型设备和卡车——以及曾有一次驶过的总统车队——可能对池底造成了影响。
工业技术公司标准水务公司（Standard Water Corp）总裁拉维·库拉尼（Ravi Kurani）告诉CNN，他绝不会建议将车辆开进水池表面，尤其是在翻新工程期间。
“这就好比你在厨房地板上铺设完地板后，又开着重型拖拉机上去——肯定会造成一定损坏。”
https://www.cnn.com/
总统车队驶过倒影池
唐纳德·特朗普总统周四视察了抽干水的林肯纪念堂倒影池翻新工地，他的车队驶过了这一地标，特朗普称赞新的“美国国旗蓝”涂装效果出色
0:39 • 来源：CNN
水池基础设施专家、咨询公司水生委员会主席蒂姆·奥厄哈恩（Tim Auerhahn）通过电子邮件表示，目前没有足够信息能确切认定车辆通行造成了损坏，但“这是全面故障分析中应考虑的若干因素之一”。
奥厄哈恩补充道，“重要的是不要过早聚焦于单一理论。”
特朗普本周表示，倒影池将在7月4日前后再次抽干，以进行“永久性修复”。
西卡公司上一次参与倒影池翻新是在2012年，当时巴拉克·奥巴马政府斥资3400万美元，用18个月时间对水池进行翻新，旨在解决长期存在的藻类滋生问题。
然而，翻新工程完工后不久，水池再次变得浑浊不堪、散发异味。这次未能妥善解决水池问题的情况成为了特朗普发起自己的翻新工程时的政治攻击素材。
据两名接受CNN采访的西卡公司员工透露，就在此时，美国混凝土服务公司（American Concrete Services）于3月下旬联系西卡，寻求开展一项快速蓝色表面工程。目前尚不清楚内政部为何选择了不同的承包商大西洋工业涂料公司。
美国混凝土服务公司未回复本文的置评请求。
员工们表示，西卡在完成常规可行性和风险评估后拒绝了该提案。西卡的一名专家推测，这是因为西卡的解决方案复杂且耗时，无法满足承包商仅需数月的紧迫工期要求。
一名西卡员工表示，主要问题在于倒影池伸缩缝的衬里以及可用材料和水下使用材料的限制。内政部长道格·伯古姆（Doug Burgum）透露，本次翻新工程中新更换了2.5英里长的伸缩缝。
伸缩缝可让其所连接的大型混凝土板随温度变化而伸缩。
该员工表示，西卡提出的解决方案之一是在伸缩缝上方安装金属盖板，再涂刷蓝色涂层。西卡曾警告承包商，随着水池结构自然的热胀冷缩，金属盖板可能会显露出来，导致水池其他区域的蓝色涂装出现色差。
在首次发现涂层剥落之前，大西洋工业涂料公司所有者埃迪·伍德（Eddie Wood）本月在接受记者、前共和党沟通策略师艾米丽·米勒（Emily Miller）采访时表示，是政府决定使用一种名为聚脲的塑料类涂层，并委托犀牛衬里公司提供相关材料。
该公司官网显示，其此前曾与军方多个部门签约，为防弹衣、直升机、燃油箱和卡车提供涂层。伍德此前告诉CNN，他为公司参与该项目感到自豪，并称池水充满藻类与他的公司无关。当蓝色涂层开始剥落时，他表示会处理所有出现的问题。
伍德本周告诉CNN，他无法回答有关翻新流程和时间线的问题。
犀牛衬里公司曾卷入多起诉讼。2021年底，陪审团裁定犀牛衬里公司需支付200万美元赔偿金，认定其未对推荐的安装商进行适当培训和审查，且未彻底检查德克萨斯州一座大型商业建筑的完工屋顶。根据诉讼中的指控，这些失误导致该建筑出现200多处漏水，不得不更换了覆盖犀牛衬里产品的全新金属屋顶以防止进一步损坏。
犀牛衬里公司未回复CNN的置评请求。
据该公司的一则广告显示，本次倒影池翻新工程最终使用了两种犀牛衬里产品：犀牛406底漆和管道工5000。底漆由环氧树脂制成，管道工5000则是树脂和异氰酸酯——聚脲的混合物。
管道工5000产品通常用于储水设施、污水处理设施和管道的内衬——这些容器不会长期暴露在阳光下。部分聚脲材料在紫外线照射下并不稳定。
至于犀牛406底漆，一名西卡员工表示，作为车库地板常用涂料的环氧树脂质地坚硬，不适合用于倒影池这类需要伸缩的伸缩缝场景。
犀牛衬里公司在其官网关于倒影池的声明中表示，“我们注意到有关局部涂层分离的报道。”
“根据项目团队提供的信息，该情况仅限于涂层表层的局部区域，并未影响底层防水膜，”声明补充道，“项目相关方已了解该情况，并已确定整改措施。”
当被问及西卡员工解释为何公司认为倒影池工程不可行时，水池基础设施专家奥厄哈恩表示，这是“一项技术上合理的评估”。
“大型伸缩缝在水生设施中是具有挑战性的结构，尤其是在大型水池这类可能发生位移的场景中，”奥厄哈恩说道，“环氧树脂系统在许多水生设施中表现良好，但它们相对坚硬，在预计会出现显著位移的场景中并不适用。在伸缩缝上方安装金属盖板并非不合理的解决方案，其他工程应用中也曾采用过。”
奥厄哈恩提醒称，他的观察仅基于公开信息。他表示，虽然他不会贸然断定犀牛管道工5000是错误的应用选择，但该产品的选用“引发了合理的技术疑问，包括与基底的相容性、紫外线照射、伸缩缝位移、化学暴露以及在倒影池独特环境中的长期耐用性”。
他补充道，在大型历史性水池中使用聚脲涂层同样不符合常规。
“目前该技术在喷泉和水池中的应用尚未得到充分验证，因此在该场景下属于 largely untested technology，”奥厄哈恩说道。
Exclusive: Firm that worked on past Reflecting Pool renovation passed on Trump project after deeming it ‘unfeasible’
2026-06-25T21:27:02.981Z / CNN
Several months before blue strips started floating to the surface of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a company involved in its last renovation more than 15 years ago was approached with an opportunity to do this remodel as well. But the company said no.
Specifically, it balked at two requirements – the Trump administration wanted it done by July 4, and the pool bottom had to be blue, according to two employees with the New Jersey-based Sika Corporation, which provided the concrete construction and sealing products for a 2010 renovation project to the Reflecting Pool.
According to the two employees, who spoke to CNN on the condition they not be identified, both demands made the job “unfeasible.”
Ultimately, Rhino Linings, which is most popular for its truck bed linings but also says on its website it can be used for water facilities, was chosen to provide materials for the latest Reflecting Pool renovation.
Now, less than a month after it was applied, the material from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool appears to be peeling off, causing a massive Washington brouhaha, with President Donald Trump blaming radical left vandals and contractors promising to fix what they say are isolated problem areas. Meanwhile, algae has turned the water various shades of green despite the renovation that was supposed to clear that up.
Trump has maintained that the renovation has been a success, but the project has faced heavy scrutiny. It was initially estimated to cost $1.8 million, but the price tag is now up to $14.7 million, according to a contract summary of the Interior Department’s award to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings.
Given Sika’s prior experience working on the Reflecting Pool, the company’s decision to decline the contract, which has not been previously reported, could further enflame mounting criticism that the project was rushed and potentially improperly completed.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent letters Wednesday to the contractors overseeing the renovation, requesting information such as contracts and water quality records.
“Donald Trump’s disastrous renovation of our national Reflecting Pool is his latest failed vanity project,” Garcia said in a statement. “The President should be focused on making life more affordable for the American people, not rewarding his loyalists with government contracts and wasting taxpayer money on failing projects. We’re demanding answers straight from the contractors about the project’s failures.”
Sika Corp. did not reply to CNN’s request for comment.
The drama around the Reflecting Pool has spawned theories as to what went wrong from both the president and internet sleuths.
Last Friday, Trump first echoed claims that surfaced in right-wing circles that the pool’s broader problems are a result of vandalism. Trump has floated a number of allegations, often without evidence, including that there’s a gash hundreds of feet long in the pool.
On Wednesday night, the Justice Department said in a court filing that the caulk over the pool’s foam sealant was cut with a “sharp knife or razor” and that the tops of roughly 70 fence posts were thrown into the pool. The filing is part of a lawsuit brought by the nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation that contends officials bypassed regulatory steps in order to complete the renovation.
Tourists and local residents alike have flocked to the site in recent days to take photos and videos of the algae bloom or peeling blue strips. Police arrested at least six people for vandalism and issued federal citations to at least seven others.
At least one person who was arrested for vandalism, three-time US Olympian David Hearn, told CNN that he was merely touching a piece of partially detached blue material from the recent renovation.
Online commentators have also speculated that the bottom of the pool may have been affected by the presence of heavy equipment and trucks — and a presidential motorcade that drove through at one point — shortly after the coating was applied.
Ravi Kurani, President of Standard Water Corp, an industrial technology company, told CNN he would never recommend driving cars out onto a pool surface, especially when renovations are being done.
“It’s like you’re putting flooring on your kitchen floor and then you’re take a really heavy tractor on top of it – it’s going to mess it up a little bit.”
https://www.cnn.com/
Trump motorcade drives through reflecting pool
President Donald Trump toured the drained Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool renovation site Thursday as his motorcade drove through the landmark, which he praised for its new “American flag blue” coating
0:39 • Source: CNN
Tim Auerhahn, a pool infrastructure expert and the chairman of the Aquatic Council, a consulting firm , said over email there isn’t enough information to definitively conclude that the vehicle traffic caused damage, but “it is one of several factors that should be considered as part of a comprehensive failure analysis.”
Auerhahn added that, “It’s important not to focus on a single theory too early.”
Trump said this week that the Reflecting Pool will be drained again for “permanent repair” around the Fourth of July.
The last time Sika worked on the reflecting pool was in 2012, when President Barack Obama’s administration spent $34 million on an 18-month renovation of the pool which was meant to address ongoing issues with algae blooms.
However, shortly after that renovation was completed, the pool again became a murky, smelly mess. That apparent failure to adequately address the issues with the pool became political fodder for Trump when he ordered his own renovation.
That’s when, in late March, Sika was contacted by American Concrete Services for a quick surfacing project, in blue, according to the two Sika employees who spoke to CNN. It’s unclear why the Department of Interior used a different contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings.
American Concrete Services did not reply to a request for comment for this story.
Sika declined the proposal after a routine assessment of feasibility and risk, the employees said. One of the Sika specialists assumed that was because Sika’s solution was complicated and lengthy, not fitting the contractor’s tight timeline of just a few months turnaround.
The main issue, one of Sika employees said, was the lining over the expansion joints featured in the Reflecting Pool and constraints on what material could be used and submerged in water. The Reflecting Pool features 2.5 miles of joints, which were recently replaced as part of the renovations, according to Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
The joints allow the large concrete slabs they connect to flex with changing temperatures.
One of the solutions Sika proposed was to place metal on top of the joints, then apply a blue color coating. Sika warned the contractor that with potential movement – natural expansion and contraction – the metal could show through, causing inconsistencies with the blue used in other parts of the pool, the employee said.
Prior to when peeling was first spotted, in an interview this month with Emily Miller, a journalist and former Republican communications strategist, Eddie Wood, who owns Atlantic Industrial Coatings, said it was the government that decided to use a type of plastic-like coating called polyurea and contract Rhino Linings to provide those materials .
The company has previously been contracted by branches of the military, providing coatings for body armor, helicopters, fuel tanks and trucks, its website says. Wood previously told CNN he was proud of his company’s part in the project and said he had nothing to do with the algae-filled water. When the blue material started peeling, he said he would address any problems that have arisen.
Wood told CNN he was not available to answer questions regarding the renovation process and timeline this week.
Rhino Linings has also been named in multiple lawsuits. In late 2021, a jury returned a $2 million verdict against Rhino, finding it did not properly train or vet its recommended installer. The jury also found Rhino failed to thoroughly inspect the finished roof for a large commercial building in Texas. According to allegations in the lawsuit, those failures resulted in the building experiencing more than 200 leaks and required the installation of a new metal roof over the Rhino Linings products to prevent further damage.
Rhino Linings did not reply to CNN’s request for comment.
The two Rhino Linings products ultimately used in the Reflecting Pool were Rhino 406 Primer and Pipeliner 5000, according to an advertisement for the company. The primer is made up of epoxy, and the pipeliner is made of a mixture of resin and isocyanate – polyurea.
The Pipeliner 5000 product is typically used for linings in water storage, wastewater facilities, and pipes – containers not exposed to sunlight on a regular basis. Some polyureas are not stable under UV light .
As for the Rhino 406 Primer, one Sika employee said that epoxy, which is a popular coating for garage floors, is rigid, and would not be a good solution for flexing joints like the ones in the Reflecting Pool.
In a statement about the Reflecting Pool on its website, Rhino Linings said it “is aware of reports regarding localized areas of finish coat separation.”
“Based on information provided to us by the project team, the condition is limited to isolated areas of the finish layer and does not affect the underlying waterproofing membrane,” the statement added. “The project stakeholders are aware of the condition, and corrective actions have been identified .”
Asked to review the Sika employee’s explanation of why the company didn’t feel the reflecting pool job was feasible, Auerhahn, the pool infrastructure expert, said it was “a technically reasonable assessment.”
“Large expansion joints are challenging features in aquatic installations, especially in large basins where movement is likely,” Auerhahn said. “Epoxy systems perform well in many aquatic installations, but they’re relatively rigid and not relied upon when significant joint movement is expected. Using a metal cap over this joint is not an unreasonable solution and has been relied on in other engineering applications.”
Auerhahn, who cautioned his observations were based only on publicly available information, said that while he would stop short of concluding that Rhino Pipeliner 5000 was definitively the wrong product for the application, the product’s selection “raises legitimate technical questions regarding substrate compatibility, UV exposure, joint movement, chemical exposure and long-term durability in the unique environment of the Reflecting Pool.”
He added that using polyurea coatings in a large historic water basin is similarly unconventional.
“It has not been well proven in fountains and pools, so it was a largely untested technology given the setting,” Auerhahn said.