The contractor responsible for renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool identified internal mistakes and flawed planning as the reasons behind the failure of the pool’s new blue liner. This was discovered from documents reviewed by The New York Times.

The project, undertaken by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, initially blamed damage on vandalism. President Trump echoed those claims, attributing the damage to vandals using knives or box cutters. However, the Justice Department later dropped all charges against those accused of vandalizing the landmark.

According to Atlantic’s reports, both design and execution issues were identified as contributing factors. The company’s internal report, dated August 14, and a more detailed account from September 2, described the challenges faced during the project. These documents included Atlantic’s communication with the government and daily progress updates from the National Park Service within the previous two months.

As per the documents, one significant issue was inadequate spraying of the primer in certain areas due to “human oversight.” This affected the adherence of liner layers. Additionally, the repair plan mistakenly included two incompatible chemicals in the liner layers.

The Justice Department initiated the dismissal of vandalism charges on July 31, following the realization of these internal errors. Atlantic’s acknowledgment of their oversight highlights the complexities involved in restoration projects of national significance.