Jennifer and Tresw, Thanks a lot for your advice. In fact, we swam today in the pool, yeaaaahhhH! Well, not really swimming, because the water was cold, about 60F and because I let the garden hose running in fresh water for an hour to lift up the level, but as a side effect it got even colder... But the clarity is now great. It is amazing comparing to a week ago, when was a swamp... What a miracle. I got the 4 way test kit, as suggested by TRESW and the readings were not that bad. Chlorine was really really low 0.4-0.6, but Ph was just right 7.6 and TA was 80 ppm (could have been 70 ppm, but with the background coloring I could not really say). The leaks are really big issue though. I broke the cement around the skimmer and now I can see the top plastic of the feeding tunnel (about 3-4 inches deep down), and it has about 0.5 inches water. What is even more worrisome is that the water is about 2" above the pool level, which means that the walls are all filled up with water all the way to the concrete deck and it is overflowing from any crack the water can get through. Also, the lines around the concrete deck are wet, as I dug about an inch deep around and now water started amassing around. And this is on the other side of the pool... I am having a serious leakage, that is for sure. I will rent these days a power hammer from Home depot and I intend to break to pieces the deck. The problem is I have not decided what to do with the debris yet. Any suggestions? As for the dead animal, I am no longer worried. I cleaned, and shocked, and cleaned, and shocked and now I believe there is nothing left from it... I hope. I certainly will avoid any contact of the water with my mouth for the next month or so, but overall I think I am over this now :) Thanks for all support and advice. If something else comes out, please shoot. I am ready to make some pics and post them online for discussion. Best, Lubo

Any cladding material is only as good as the substrate supporting it from below. Your concrete is failing. Maybe the soil under it is subsiding due to site grading issues creating erosion. Maybe the soil under it wasn’t compacted properly. Concrete subsides because of what is below it. Just as stone would fail because of the failing concrete below it. It’s a chain. That subsidence must be repaired. Period. No it won’t be a cheap fix. It has to happen. The compacted soil that holds the concrete up also supports the pool sides. If you let it go on too long, the structural integrity of the pool can be affected and it will cost even more to fix them.

The coping stones should have a mortar joint between the stones to allow for expansion and contraction. They are moving as a "unit" over the winter, and causing the setting material to crack away beneath. the stones need to move individually. There should also a minimum of a 1/2" joint between the back of the coping stone and your concrete patio.The joint gets filled with self leveling caulk type material such as Deck-O-Seal. If the patio is up against or very close to close the back of the coping, it will move over the winter and push the coping around and cause cracks. If you had tile in place, that probably would have cracked as well. An 8" beam does not provide a stable base for 12" material. With a 2" overhang into the pool, there's still 2" hanging off the back which subject to frost heaves.

I'm not a fan of any stamped concrete. It fades over time, the color is not throughout the mix so if it gets chipped, you'll see the concrete underneath. Looks too fake to me. Just my opinion. Because your budget conscious, I would pour a concrete deck. Use a nice coping stone to dress it up. The pool is rectangle so a consideration for long coping stones in a natural material such as Limestone or Bluestone. That would be tread material 12" wide and various lengths and most stone yards stock that.