President Donald Trump's plan to renovate a Washington, D.C. golf course has taken a hit even before the first tee shot, according to a new report on Tuesday.
Trump had announced construction would start on Sept. 1 at the municipal golf course at East Potomac Park, which is also known as Hains Point, but several issues have derailed the project so far, Mother Jones reported.
"Water from the Potomac River floods its sidewalks and drowned the city’s dreams of a modern swimming facility," according to Mother Jones. "Now, it threatens to wash out Trump’s golf fantasy and leave behind a disaster that will make the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool look like a minor embarrassment."
Trump wanted to rush the build, but he might have missed a "glaringly obvious flaw in his plans," Mother Jones reported.
Rebecca Miller, the executive director of the DC Preservation League, an organization that has sued the Trump administration over its golf course project, put it bluntly.
"Let’s be honest," Miller told Mother Jones. "The island is sinking."
Construction at the location could cause serious water issues.
"The existing East Potomac golf course is basically flat, making it perfect for beginning and amateur players," Mother Jones reported. "But championship courses require such technical features as deep bunkers, water hazards, and dramatic slopes. Because of the park’s high water table, the only way Trump could create those sorts of enhancements is to bring in tons of new fill to pile on top of the existing land mass, which only will create more problems."
The project could ultimately backfire, causing flooding across the National Mall, specifically at the Jefferson Memorial, which was just secured by a new $100 million taxpayer-funded seawall.
US District Court Judge Ana Reyes refused to block further work on the golf course, but she made clear she had doubts about Trump's intentions, according to Mother Jones. In July, Reyes ordered the administration to develop a plan for keeping the court regularly informed before any bulldozers arrived.
"I don't want another demolished East Wing," Reyes said. "I don't want another demolished Reflecting Pool."
People opposing the project warn it could end up like the swimming pool plan that never came to be.
"This is a municipal site," Miller said. "This is not Pebble Beach, and it doesn’t need to be."
