I had an old swimming pool that I had dug out in 2011. We got a few good years of use out of it when my daughter was younger, but it became way too labor and cost intensive compared to the one or two times a year that it was used.
I looked into so many different options. I considered a swimming pond, hydroponics, or raising tillapia in it. But in the end, I opted to have it dug out. The cost of upgrading the thing was more than the cost of digging it out, although the cost of digging it out was pretty expensive (~$12,000). I had three options: 1) fill it in with dirt as is; 2) have the top couple of feet of the pool removed, and then fill it in with dirt; 3) have it completely dug out. I went with option 3 (the most expensive option), because if you go to sell your house, you have to disclose that you have a buried pool back there. There's a lot of rebar and gunite and plaster and electric lines (for the equipment and light in the pool) and gas lines (for the heater) to deal with. The company I went with (Pool It Out) took care of all if it. I didn't want any complications if I ever decide to sell. If you fill it in, no matter what, you have to have holes punched into the bottom. All the weight of that water is holding that pool down against any groundwater that may want to push it up. I've seen pictures of empty pools that have popped out of the ground.
When I was having it removed, so many people who have pools that they now hate came by asking me about it.
I expected my property tax to go down since a pool supposedly increases your property value, but housing prices in my area went up in general, so that didn't happen.
What I have now is garden beds, fruit trees, and chickens running around. I have 1/3 of the yard for my dog to run around, too. I am so happy I got rid of the pool. My electric bill was cut in half due to not having to run the pump. And I'm saving so much money by not having to make constant repairs to the thing. Not having to store and handle chlorine is great too. Unless you are big on entertaining, swimming pools literally are a money pit.
