The only vandalism of the Reflecting Pool was that done by the current administration.
What we know as the National Mall used to contain a river, a canal, and a marsh. Originally 17th and Constitution NW, where the old lock keeper’s house is, was the point where Tiber Creek flowed into the Potomac. The bank of the Potomac ran near the Washington Monument. They dug a tunnel under Tiber Creek to sink it and then built Constitution Avenue on top of it. The Potomac riverbed was dredged and the material was used to reclaim land that became West Potomac Park, which includes the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. All of that used to be river and marsh. Braddock’s Rock near the Institute of Peace was originally in the river, but is 16 feet underground and over 1,000 feet inland now. They built a well around it to keep it from being buried.
Looking at all the water that used to be in and around the Mall, I can’t help but think that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the Capitol Reflecting Pool, and the pond in Constitution Gardens were engineered to contain the water that would collect in these places anyway. That’s what the Tidal Basin is for also.