1,079. Irrigation on Chol HaMoed

Hilchos Shvisas Yom Tov 7:25

One may hire a worker on chol hamoed to do a job after yom tov so long as he does not weigh, measure or count the way that one would on a regular weekday. If a non-Jew has been hired to do a job for a Jew, the Jew should try to stop him from doing it on chol hamoed, even if the job is to be performed out of town. This is because people know that this job is being done for the Jew and they will suspect that he hired the non-Jew to do it over chol hamoed. This is forbidden because not everyone understands the difference between a hired worker and a contractor.

Shvisas Yom Tov 8:1

If rivulets flow from a pond, it is permitted to use them to irrigate parched land on chol hamoed so long as they don’t stop flowing. Similarly, one may irrigate his land from a pool of water that has an irrigation ditch running through it. If a pool is made of water that dripped from parched land, one may irrigate other parched land with it so long as the stream irrigating the first piece of parched land doesn’t stop flowing.