Hi, About 6 years ago we replaced our wood-framed in-ground pool with a steel framed vinyl-lined pool. Last summer we had a small tear in the liner (about an inch long), and the pool was losing about two inches of water per day. We patched it and everything seemed fine - no measurable water loss, etc.
In October we covered the pool with a mesh spring-loaded cover (the ones they show the elephant standing on). Just yesterday, about a week after a 6" snow fall (first major snow of the year), I realized that because of the weight of the snow, the cover had sagged about 2' down in the middle. I shoveled the snow off, removed the cover, and there is only about 10" of water the shallow end (about 5" of ice, 5" of water). There is no obvious damage to the pool (coping/decking is all straight, sides don't appear bowed or bent, etc.)
I'm assuming that we have a very slow leak, since it hasn't been that cold this winter (it's unlikely that a major leak happened just before the pool froze).
Any advice on whether I should refill the pool so that the freeze line is higher up on the wall, or does it matter at this point? Obviously the leak isn't getting fixed until the spring, and I would expect that the pool will remain frozen for at least the next month or so.
Thanks,
-MIke