I live in WV - with millions of trees and falling leaves. And, my backyard has lots of trees near my pool. I typically cover my pool before all the leaves start to fall and leave the pool covered. But, this year, the cover came off - with some help from my two golden retrievers. Since the leaves had already fallen by the time it happened, I left it uncovered through the winter. I did not have a green/brown mess to deal with. Yes, I did have some dirt on the bottom to vaccum up but that was it. My water remained clear and it was not big deal to vaccum and we were good to go.