I have a question about maintaining my inground pool water level during the winter. All of the searches online want to tell me about water levels when I’m winterizing. I’m talking about middle-of-the-winter water levels.
I’ve been winterizing my own pool without incident for the past 15+ years. I drain it below the skimmer (and returns), blow out the water, dump in antifreeze, cap the returns, install the gizmo, and get a good airlock on the floor drains.
We’ve had more snow this winter than we’ve had in the past decade. It’s now melting, and the pool is obviously full to the top. Do I need to drain it down a bit? I’m worried about water getting between the top of the pool and the coping, and freezing again. Or getting down behind the pool walls and freezing.
It’s a steel framed pool with a vinyl liner. Coping is brick.
If the water is truly up to the top from snow melt, I would go ahead and drop it back down below the skimmer and returns like you normally do when you winterize.
The main concern is freeze and thaw. When water sits high and then refreezes, it can expand against the coping and top track. With brick coping and a steel wall vinyl liner pool, repeated freeze cycles are what can loosen mortar joints or stress the liner track over time. One freeze probably will not cause damage, but a full winter of temperature swings can.
Also, if the water is back up into the skimmer throat, even with a gizmo installed, you are reintroducing some freeze risk there.
You do not need to drain it excessively low. Just bring it back to your normal winter level below the skimmer and returns. If another hard freeze is coming, I would try to lower it before that.
Heavy snow years can absolutely refill a pool, so you may just need to check it once or twice this winter.
Short version, yes I would lower it back to your proper winter level and you will sleep better.