This was said:
My wife and I are in disagreement over that. I'm tired of going through the hassle of dealing with the cover, expecially the "back breaking" effort invovled with getting all of the crud off for cover removal. She's more concerned with the energy usage over the winter - which is definitely a point to consider.

My Reply:
We all have to pick our arguments. Think about the costs associated with transitioning a frog pond to a pool every spring versus the cost of maintaining a pool over the winter. You could run your pump only and hour or two a day, or if a 2 speed pump a bit more on low speed. Without the UV load, and the cold water temperature, I bet one large jug of wall mart bleach per month will keep the chlorination need satisfied.

Your leak situation is the kicker here. Maybe there is some visible healthy growth of weeds around the pool suggesting wet soil at one side of the pool? I bought one of those soil moisture meters where you stab the ground looking for moisture. These can be useful when looking for leaks so long as it hasn't rained in a while.

Jim