Workers paint Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue

Workers have begun painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue as part of US President Donald Trump's bid to beautify Washington DC ahead of the nation's 250th birthday this summer.

The historic pool, stretching 2,030ft (620m) between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, has long been plagued by leaks, structural deterioration, faulty pipes, algae growth and bird droppings.

Trump has said his project to restore and paint the monument would solve the leaking problem and make the pool more beautiful than ever.

But it is unclear whether the repairs can specifically fix the underlying structural issues at the attraction, which was built in 1922.

The reflecting pool was "filthy, dirty, and it leaked like a sieve for many years", Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office in April.

But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose departmental purview includes the monument, had pledged to solve the problem, Trump said.

Initial bids to renovate the pool included an estimated cost of $300m (£220m) and a timeline of over three years, Trump said. It was also proposed to remove the pool's original granite and replace it with stone, the president added.

But Trump said he found "a better way of doing it" and called some contractors who had worked for him in the past on renovating swimming pools, He said they could do it for $1.5m to $2m.

"We scrubbed the surface of the existing granite that's been there since 1922 we then grouted all of the granite, fixed it up, took about two weeks, and now we have a nice, clean surface on which we're putting an industrial grade swimming pool topping," he said.

The paint color he chose is "American Flag Blue", Trump said.

According to the New York Times, the Trump administration awarded a no-bid contract - totalling a higher-than-promised $6.9m - to a preferred vendor, using an exemption meant for emergency situations.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of nonprofit watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told the BBC this project was evidence that "the system of checks and balances has broken down in the United States".

"Burgum is dispensing with a variety of legal safeguards to improperly facilitate Trump vanity projects in the nation's capital," Whitehouse said.

Trump has said the paint will last for 40 or 50 years and "there'll be no leaks, there'll be no anything".

"For much less money, it will look far more beautiful, more beautiful than it did in 1922 when they built it," the president said.

Painting the reflecting pool blue is just the latest project that Trump has pursued in Washington DC.

He wants to construct a 250-foot victory arch, has demolished the White House East Wing to build a ballroom, and has been retitling institutions such as the Kennedy Center and Institute of Peace to add his own name.