Closing inground pool in MA but want to save water for rink!

[gb99]

Hi all,

Thank you all for helping a newbie pool owner get by in our first summer of having a pool. Now it's time to close it and I'm already thinking about a fun activity for the kids during the long winters here in MA. I'd like to set up an ice skating rink using one of those kits on the flat lawn that's near the pool. Since the pool water needs to be lowered anyway, is there anyway I can repurpose it for the rink? Maybe follow the closing procedures now but leave the water level as is, and when it gets near freezing temperatures, use a sump pump and pump water from the pool into the rink?

What do you guys and gals think? Is this too much trouble and I should just treat each project independently? I'd like to save on the water bill as well!

Thank you.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Closing inground pool in MA but want to save water for r

Certainly doable but water is cheaper than many folks realize. Average cost seems to be a $5/1000 gallons.

Figure out how many gallons your rink needs and then decide if it's worth it.

 

[DigbyAllen]

Re: Closing inground pool in MA but want to save water for r

Both my son and I play hockey, so I'd love to have a backyard rink, but it doesn't get cold enough long enough here. Some friends do one every year, and they are lucky to get one or two good weeks out of it. Some years, not even that. We're just a little too close to the coast. 50 miles north would be no problem.

That said, I'd treat it as a separate project. How big a rink are we talking about? How level is it?