Hey everyone! Glad to finally have registered after lurking this forum for the past week. Here's my situation, and I hope I can provide enough relevant info to help you help me. If not, lemme know what you need to know and I will provide! Another thing you should know is that this kinda thing isn't really my forté, so I'm an absolute beginner (something tells me you get that a lot in this forum, though).

The pool I bought is a ProSeries 16' X 48" metal frame above ground swimming pool. I also bought a Gorilla Pad. The area I chose for installation is at a slope, which I'm guessing (the slope) is ~1' higher at the high point compared to the low point. Here's what's happened since the project started:

- Tilled and attempted to level the ground
- Was initially convinced the ground was level, so put down the Gorilla Pad and set up the pool, filled it with 1" of water
- Found the water pooling to one side of the pool, which means the ground is not level
- The pool is currently sitting outside. We've had rain the past few days and is still raining, so haven't been able to get out and continue this project

Once the rain lets up, my plan is to drain the pool and level the ground. However, in searching the net to make sure I have all my ducks lined up in a row, I found a few things I didn't consider before putting up the pool:

- I didn't really tamper the ground
- I never considered surface water drainage

I really want to do this right, so I have a few questions for you all:

1. What is the best but most inexpensive way I can tamper the ground?
- I read using hand tampers is not recommended for an above ground pool setup in leveling ground. I do have a riding lawnmower I can use to hook something up to the rear if there's anything like that that exists, but I've also read I can rent things like a jumping jack tamper at a hardware store. I guess I just need a push in the right direction.
2. The drain plug for this pool is higher than the water level. Is the best way to drain this pool to use a bucket or some other container and scoop it out? Something tells me there's a better way.
3. On the topic of surface water drainage, how would I go about doing something like this?
- The high point of my pool area has about a 1' drop from the grass to the ground that I've been working in. I've read that I need to put up a retaining wall. I know nothing about this. I guess I'm looking for a push in the right direction here, too.

I can provide pictures of anything that you need as long as it's possible. Keep in mind my pool is up right now, so I can't take pictures of anything beneath the pool. Thanks so much in advance for your help! Happy to be here

-Dan