The Memorial Reflecting Pool - A Century of Problems and Repairs

Swimming Pool Steve was WRONG and in this video I explain what exactly I got wrong. I also take a step back to talk about he history of the construction and renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. I think understanding more about the initial construction, initial failures, initial remediation attempts as well as the most recent major overhaul in 2010 to 2012 will go a long way towards helping people contextualize just how many problems this pool has had over the years. The storied past of the reflecting pool is filled with sinking and leaking issues, half measure repairs and ultimately major changes needed in 2010 to finally address both the lack of a pumping and filtration system, but also to develop a support system to hold the pool structure without sinking or moving on the unstable ground where the pool was built. May 28 2026 video where I had arrived at 3.8M gallons volume in the reflecting pool, time stamped to 6:40 where I discuss this:    • The Washington Post Asked Me About the Ref...   Thank you to the incredible number of people who reached out with well wishes for myself and Uncle Joe. Your profound kindness was much needed and very much appreciated - thank you. Consult with Steve about your pool: https://www.swimmingpoolsteve.com/pag... 00:00 - Construction and repair history of the memorial reflecting pool 00:30 - Swimming Pool Steve was wrong about the reflecting pool 01:30 - History of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool 01:50 - The memorial reflecting pool was built in 1920 02:30 - In 1929 the poured a new concrete slab to stem leaks 03:10 - By the 1970's the reflecting pool had sunken by about 12 inches 03:45 - How much was leaking from the memorial reflecting pool historically 04:30 - What is the origin story of swimming pool nightmare situations? 05:40 - In 2010 they spent $34M on remediation and repairs 06:25 - Wood piles were installed to stabilize the reflecting pool 07:10 - How much concrete was used with the memorial reflecting pool reno? 08:15 - How was Swimming Pool Steve wrong? 09:10 - In 2010 to 2012 the reflecting pool was changed to 4 million gallons 09:35 - Filtration rates for the memorial reflecting pool 11:10 - The filtration system often runs at much less than maximum capacity #reflectingpool #washingtondc #constructionproject #swimmingpoolsteve