Trump forced to pay ANOTHER six-figure sum to repair troubled Reflecting Pool... as total cost skyrockets to more than $15 million

The Trump administration is paying out another $682,000 to repair the troubled Lincoln Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, the Daily Mail can reveal.The Department of the Interior signed the deal with Virginia-based Persimmon Grove LLC to replace the valves on the attraction, according to the contract.The job runs from September 10th to October 15th and is part of the latest efforts to repair the pool, bringing the total cost of the job to more than $15 million.Other contracts seen by the Daily Mail show that Persimmon was separately paid $488,000 for the cleaning of the Constitution Gardens Lake, which is next to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and was drained ahead of the celebrations to mark America’s 250th birthday in July.The saga of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool has become embarrassing for the Trump administration after large chunks of it began peeling off following a repainting by the president’s hand-picked contractor.Donald Trump hired a Virginia firm called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which had previously worked on the swimming pools at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, to paint the pool American Flag Blue ahead of the July 4th celebrations.But within days of the job being finished, green algae returned to the pool and large sections of the paint began to peel off.Trump initially said the work would cost $1.8 million, but Atlantic is now set to be paid $14.7 million under the no-bid contract. The Department of the Interior signed a deal with Persimmon Grove LLC to for repairs to the Reflecting Pool costing $682,000 The pool has faced many problems since it was repainted blue, including turning green from algae. The pool is seen in June The president initially blamed vandals, but this week, Atlantic Industrial Coatings admitted it had made errors in the application of the paint, The New York Times reported.Valued at $682,631, the contract for Persimmon is to ‘maintain / repair / rebuild equipment,' specifically pumps and compressors.Persimmon is owned by William Phillips, whose family run a lawn maintenance business that has earned numerous federal contracts going back years.In recent years, Persimmon has been awarded millions for maintaining various sites around Washington DC, and that included work ahead of the America 250 celebrations.In April, the company was awarded $488,000 for repairing and cleaning the Constitution Gardens Lake.The work also involved repairing the pumps and the compressors.At the time, members of the public asked on forums, like Reddit, why the pools were being drained, but the cost of the operation was not known until now.After Trump claimed that vandals were to blame for the fiasco at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool, several individuals were charged with felony vandalism, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. The job runs from September 10th to October 15th and is part of the latest efforts to repair the pool, bringing the total cost of the job to more than $15 million for the Trump Administration He could have faced up to 10 years in jail for the charges, which were brought by the city’s US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a Trump ally.But the case was dropped after prosecutors admitted that the damage to the pool’s lining was due to a ‘botched’ renovation effort.The reversal led to the president venting his fury at Pirro and saying he disagreed ‘100 percent’ with her.On Truth Social, Trump accused her of ‘folding like an umbrella’ and wrote: ‘I don’t know what she was thinking?’The message is said to have led to a fiery showdown in the Oval Office between Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, according to reports.This week The New York Times reported that Atlantic Industrial Coatings admitted in a report to the Interior Department that it had messed up the original work.In reports dated August 14th and September 2nd, Atlantic blamed ‘human oversight’ for using two chemicals that were not compatible.The Daily Mail has contacted Phillips and Persimmon for comment. Workers seen doing repairs on the pool in late August. Permission's contract is to ‘maintain / repair / rebuild equipment,' specifically pumps and compressors A worker sprays at the pool's broken liner in August. The Interior Department said that the pool’s water valveswere ‘falling apart’ and are being replaced Workers repairing the pool in late August after a rushed job was carried out to make sure it was ready for America's 250th anniversary celebrationsIn a statement, the Interior Department said that the pool’s water values were ‘falling apart’ and are being replaced.The statement said: ‘Like any major construction project – and in this case, the world’s largest reflecting pool which was worked on in record time for the 250th celebrations – there are always parts of a project where a contractor returns to make sure the work is perfect.‘And in this case, with the major vandalism of long razor-blade gashes, the contractor is also replacing the sections of the pool damaged by vandals, who also repeatedly reached into the pool and ripped at the coating.'