Latest Breaking News

A crucial decision came in early April, when the administration awarded a no-bid contract to a Virginia-based company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings to spread the waterproofing blue coating on the pool’s concrete slabs. That coating, known as Rhino Pipeliner 5000, may be peeling off because it is not stretchy or flexible enough, said Anthony Flett, the CEO of U.S. Coating Specialists, a Florida-based company that specializes in waterproofing substances.

“They used a hybrid polyurea, and they really should have picked a pure poly,” Flett said, adding, “There’s people in the pool industry whose whole life is polyurea, and they should have been called in.”

Tim Auerhahn, the chair of the Aquatic Council LLC, a consulting firm for the pool and hot-tub industry, said in an email that Rhino Pipeliner 5000 is usually used to line the inside of pipes.

“The manufacturer’s technical literature indicates it may be suitable for certain waterproofing and protective coating applications beyond pipe rehabilitation,” he said, “but it does not specifically identify large ornamental water features, swimming pools or granite-lined basins like the reflecting pool as primary use cases.”

Rhino Pipeliner 5000 is made by a California-based company called Rhino Linings. Pierre Gagnon, the company’s CEO, said in an email that the peeling “is limited to isolated areas of the finish layer and does not affect the underlying waterproofing membrane.”