Swimming pools blog

I have an above ground oval pool 32X15. It was installed in 2001.
Long story short, a new cover I bought in Sept. didn’t fit properly -
was too short on one end, so I weighted down that end of the cover
using cement landscaping blocks on top of the pool wall. It worked
for several weeks, until one of my cats was walking around up there,
and managed to tip one of the landscaping blocks. As it fell onto
the cover, the weight of it hitting the cover dragged two other
nearby blocks onto the cover also, and all three blocks ended up at
the bottom of my pool.
A week or so later, in late October (did I mention I live in north
central Illinois?) I got brave and tried to get into the pool to
retrieve the blocks and see how bad the damage was. I managed to
stay in long enough to grab one block and toss it over the side
before I had to get the heck out of there….the water was
FREEZING! And I’m no Polar Bear.

Within a couple of days of the blocks going in, the water level
dropped to a depth of about 2′. Normal full depth is 4′, and due to
closing the pool, it was at about 3′ when the blocks went in. Since
the initial drop in water level, I’ve been watching it, and it
doesn’t seem to be dropping. I did notice a big 5″-6″ jagged tear
at the bottom of the pool where I had removed the one block. I have
no idea if there are tears under the other two remaining blocks.
I’ve since replaced the original cover, the store admitting they
sold me the wrong size. The original cover is inside the pool - I
couldn’t get it out, too much water on it. Now the properly sized
cover has also dropped into the pool because of the weight of all
the snow we had recently. I’m not even going to try and reattach
it - it was held to the pool with clamps, which are all laying in
the snow now.
Ok, folks…come April or May, when ever it’s possible to start
doing something about the mess I’m in, does anyone have any
suggestions on how to proceed to repair the liner, should it be
replaced, and is there anything else I should be concerneded about?
I am watching the water level, making sure it doesn’t drop further,
and will fill it back up a bit if necessary, in order to keep the
sides from collapsing. I’m thinking ahead now, to figure out my
options, so I can be prepared once the “ice goes out”.
Thanks for your help!!
Marge