Sika Corporation Declined Reflecting Pool Project Over Timeline and Color Requirements

Sika Corporation, a New Jersey-based supplier of concrete construction products, declined to participate in the most recent renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Two employees told CNN the company was contacted several months before blue material began appearing at the surface.

They said the Trump administration required completion by July 4 and a blue pool bottom, conditions the employees described as unfeasible. Rhino Linings was selected instead to supply materials for the project. Less than a month after application, sections of the blue coating began peeling.

Algae has also returned to the pool, turning the water green in places.

The Interior Department awarded the contract to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The initial estimate was $1.8 million; the current total stands at $14.7 million. It remains unclear why the department selected a different contractor than the one that contacted Sika.

Sika last worked on the Reflecting Pool during an $34 million renovation completed in 2012 under the Obama administration. Employees said the company proposed placing metal over the pool’s 2.5 miles of expansion joints before applying a blue coating. They warned that movement at the joints could cause the metal to show through and create color inconsistencies.

In a court filing this week, the Justice Department stated that caulk over the pool’s foam sealant was cut with a sharp knife or razor and that fence-post tops were thrown into the water. Police have arrested at least six people for vandalism and issued federal citations to at least seven others.