Just want to break this out as a question, what was the water source that filled the reflecting pool?

[Ocelot II]

2. Both the tidal basin and city water. Here's a really good explanation of how the whole system works,

and why there are still problems with it.

Water is pumped from the Tidal Basin, an inlet of the Potomac River, to the treatment plant. There it is filtered and purified before being fed into the Reflecting Pool.

But when the water from the Tidal Basin is too murky or filled with algae — which is often — the pool is filled with city drinking water instead. This happens especially in the hot summer months, when algae blooms are prevalent.

No matter where the water comes from — the Tidal Basin or the city — it does not stay clean for long. In warm weather, the shallow pool bakes in the sun.

The treatment plant is supposed to combat this problem, using screens and sand to filter the water and a system that infuses the water with ozone gas, which kills algae and bacteria.

But it doesn't, because of all the leakage in the plumbing. The system can't keep up with the water loss. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/05/31/us/trump-reflecting-pool-problems.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qVA.Hbdd.gbkvbjqGoMdC&smid=url-share