spoke with a big canadian pool store just north of you in winnipeg, MOM..they get darn cold winters and lots of snow. here is what he told me:

Thanks for your email.



"During our conversations, I don’t know if I mentioned to you that I and one of my co workers use only a leaf net for our winter cover.

I stretch the leaf net and use the water bags. Once the snow accumulates the leaf net starts to sag because of the snow load. In the spring your water level will be higher so less water to add. The only draw back may more sediment in the pool. To get rid of that, just add more water and then vacuum on waste so the sediment will by pass the filter."