Malcolm X Park’s cascading fountain in Northwest Washington, D.C., turned a murky brown on Wednesday, just months after it reopened as part of President Donald Trump’s “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” initiative.
The National Park Service said the discoloration was caused by sediment released as water began flowing through pipes that had been out of service for years following the fountain’s restoration.
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“The National Park Service continues to fine tune the fountain’s operations after the reopening of the Meridian Hill Cascading Fountain in May,” an Interior Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “We expect the water to once again run clean in the next 24-36 hours.”
The agency completed a $16 million restoration of Malcolm X Park, officially known as Meridian Hill Park, earlier this year, bringing water back to the park’s iconic 13-basin, 300-foot cascading fountain for the first time after a yearslong shutdown. The project included installing new pumps, waterproofing and cast-iron piping, restoring the lower plaza, rehabilitating the park’s upper lawns, and repairing historic features, including the bronze Joan of Arc equestrian statue.
The incident comes as the Interior Department is also grappling with problems at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, following restoration that recoated the pool floor in an “American flag blue” color. The National Park Service recently began partially draining the pool after an algae bloom and peeling pool coating appeared following the $16.4 million renovation. The Trump administration has blamed the damage on vandalism.
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Malcom X Park with National Guard troops during last week’s sweltering heat wave, where he was met by dozens of protesters.
“This background noise this morning is perfect — it’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said of the protesters.
