Comments on: Deer Park?

Question: Deer Park?

evilelvis — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:10:31 -0800

What fills up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?

Water...duh. But is it spring fed?

By: nkknkk

nkknkk — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:20:19 -0800

It's a Tidal Basin. Here you go!

By: nkknkk

nkknkk — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:21:24 -0800

Shoot, wrong body of water and wrong memorial. The Reflecting Pool on wikipedia.

By: nkknkk

nkknkk — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:25:34 -0800

Oh I swear. I am going to have to take a web-break. I just now hit Post too quickly. I was saying...

Neither of those links say HOW the pool is filled, but it contains 6,750,000 gallons and there doesn't seem to be any indication that it's spring-fed. I believe that it's basically a shallow man-made lake, filled at one point and presumably refilled as necessary.

Going away now.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:00:47 -0800

Here is the DC Water & Sewer Authority contact page. I bet they know.

By: cerebus19

cerebus19 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:16:40 -0800

According to this result from Google Books, the Reflecting Pool is three feet deep and it takes 24 hours to fill it with water. That would seem to indicate it is simply a pool, as its name would indicate. Also consider that, if it were spring-fed or tide-fed, it would not be as still as it needs to be to be a proper reflecting pool.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:05:48 -0800

Really interesting question, I've often wondered this myself but don't know the answer.

I figured they probably fill it from the regular municipal water supply, or maybe from the fire hydrant supply (are they one and the same?).

Due to the land on which they're built (filled swampland), I doubt that they're spring-fed; I think the water is artificially added.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:03:04 -0800

A few years back (when I lived nearby) the pool was dry for a span of weeks. I don't know if that was because the Park Service was trying to save water or what, but it gave me the impression that the pool relied on a natural water source.

By: Rash

Rash — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:30:48 -0800

Spring fed? Preposterous. This DC native's never heard of such a thing. The government wouldn't allow it because it would overflow!