Transparent cover on the water surface of a swimming pool

A lot of people are doing the same thing here in the South- Western part of the States (mostly because of the drought). But it sounds like you have the plan (man). Be ready to deal with the embedded cage of re-bar. The hydraulic bobcat hammer is the apex demo tool to bust concrete, but you'll have to cut some tenacious 1/2 inch rebar (reciprocating saw, oxy-acetylene). I'm guessing you'll just let it drop to the pool bottom to act as fill? The next tool you should consider using to cut through reinforced concrete is a concrete wet saw (like a Stihl TS400). This is a gas powered portable saw with a 14 inch blade and usually has a connection for a hose so as to spray the airborne dust from spreading. Also, be alert to the electric lines buried for any pool lights and expect to see 1 1/2 inch PVC encircling the entire pool shell. FYI: I've read (but never witnessed) an occurrence that may happen if the ground around the pool shell is thoroughly saturated and the pool is empty the pool can be pushed from the ground due to static water pressure.

First of all- Good on you for patching it rather than dumping it in the landfill!

I had the same pool problem last summer, several pin hole leaks. What is cool is you can patch them underwater with the patch kit. (I recommend applying the patches on the water side.) The real tough ones are holes on the bottom of the pool. They aren't easy to find without goggles and slowly crawling along the bottom of the pool. I only found mine when a tiny piece of dirt was being sucked into the leak.

As for an answer, your sides will no suddenly tear because the material on the side is rip stop. (nylon threads embedded in the vinyl).