Steve Goodale is absent who used to pay attention like this. It’s not that he’s not used to being on camera: His YouTube channel, Swimming Pool Steve, has amassed nearly 91,000 subscribers covering topics like how to grout concrete and cleaning a used hot tub.
But the story of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where algae bloomed green after a renovation President Donald Trump’s administration said would make the pool “American flag blue” during the US’s 250th birthday celebrations, has left people searching for answers about what happened.
The mystery deepened as pieces of the newly installed liner appeared to be breaking off and Trump said the pool would be removed while, without evidence, blaming saboteurs for the problems. Add in the US Park Police arresting people for touching the water as some kind of biohazard, and that makes Goodale, an award-winning pool expert, one of the most needed sources for anyone trying to figure out what’s going on with the iconic monument.
Ponds are in Goodale’s blood: He learned the tricks of the trade from his Uncle Joe and refers to ponds as “the family business.” I called him to answer some of WIRED’s most burning pool questions. This interview has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.
WIRED: Are you sick of talking about all this?
Steve Goodale: This is like the Simpsons episode where the devil serves donuts to Homer. “So, you like to talk about lakes, don’t you?”
“We heard you like to talk about pools, so we’re going to give you pools 24/7. All the time.”
I’ve been talking about them forever. Everyone is listening now.
You’ve got a lot of reporters calling you and asking you, what’s wrong with the Lincoln Memorial pool. But from watching your videos, it feels like it’s hard to say there’s anything wrong with it.
There is not enough information, in terms of pictures, videos, chemical values of water.
Natural lake, open space, clear water—that’s what this thing is—there are a lot of moving parts here. It is structure, water chemistry, filtration. There are many things that must work together.
I’ve been saying for decades, I think swimming pools are the origin of the term “watertight.” If you are not doing all the parts of your job correctly, it is very easy to see that something is wrong.
Professionals like you can see 101 ways a project like this can fail, even with a skilled, experienced repair team.
Pools are ruthlessly complicated—and I’m talking about the little ones. This is literally a large size. A master class in technical performance may be required to be able to work on this material properly.
But you don’t need Swimming Pool Steve to tell you that when you see what appears to be the interior peeling off and floating in pieces, that’s an “oh, crap” moment.
I have seen speculation that hydrogen peroxide may be the cause of pool bottom peeling. But he made a video about the line, saying it can be more complicated than that.
There is merit to this line of thinking. These internal surfaces are not chemically resistant, but they are not permanently chemically resistant. It will come down to what is being used, and how much of its substance is being used—all unanswered questions.
But with a membrane system like this, there are many technical points to address during installation. You have to account for ambient conditions such as rain, sun, humidity, moisture control in your substrate, thickness, consistency, and chemical compatibility. There are many things that can go wrong with that process. If the material is not bonded to the substrate for any number of reasons, then eventually, the entire system will fail.
