Above ground pool almost empty after winter

[MHouse]

Hello all,

I have a 24' 52" deep round pool. We closed the pool last fall, and it has a swim deck all around it so we use a winter cover similar to what would be done with an in ground where the cover is laid over the top and secured to the deck by large water tubes. About mid-winter it appeared that the air bladders under the cover had popped and the pool level was decreasing. We had terrible temps this winter multiple times getting down well below -20 and even worse with windchill. About early Feb when we had a minor thaw (temps in the 40s for a few days) the cover had sunk so far down into the pool that it had pulled in one of the water tubes, so I took the rest of them off and allowed the cover to fall in to prevent any further damage.

Today it is in the mid 50's so I went to see what it looked like. The air bladders are still intact, so I am not sure why the cover was able to sag in the middle, there appears to be no damage to the liner, the one wall is leaning in slightly, but I think that is because there is no water to push back on it, the return line plug is sitting in the bottom of the pool, and there is maybe 6" of water left in it...anyone have any thoughts on what could cause this?

Thank you!

[PoolDoc]

...anyone have any thoughts on what could cause this?

Uh-hh, you've got a leak?

Seriously, there's been a LOT of winter damage to AG pools this year. Since the last time we had a winter like this past one, was when I was a kid (40+ years ago!), there's not a lot of experience here about what might have gone wrong: we're in "new problems" territory.

Steps to take:

1. Uncover the pool and mark the water line. Wait a few days and see if it's still leaking.
2. Meanwhile chlorinate with bleach overnight -- 2 gallons of 8% bleach poured in after 6 PM.
3. Then, either chlorinate every couple of days OR add polyquat. (poolsolutions.com/polyquat.html)
4. Check all piping (if any) that is at, or below the water level.
5. If you can, get in the pool, and check the liner for splits or leaks. Be CAREFUL not to collapse the pool wall inwards!!

Good luck!