Lincoln Memorial Pool botched renovation to be fixed

US National Guard members and park police

patrolled the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

as US President Donald Trump's administration faces a self-imposed deadline

to fix a botched renovation before the nation's

250th anniversary celebration.

The patrols came after Trump

insisted vandals were responsible for damage to the peeling coating

after an algae bloom occurred.

The liner was installed as part of his 14 million-plus dollar project.

The president confirms the problems most likely require

draining the pool again for liner repairs and he promised a quick fix.

Without offering substantiation, he also says vandals dumped fertiliser in the pool

and slashed the coating with a box cutter.

But the timeline was not clear,

with the White House saying damaged areas are still being assessed.

Contractors and federal workers in recent days have been using chemicals

and ozone nanobubbles to combat the algae.

At an executive order signing,

Trump says five people had been arrested and five more were under suspicion,

and he deflected blame for the pool's maintenance issues:

He says "I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up."