Incentive Contract Option C pays a stand-by fee ($35/acre) in exchange for an agreement to suspend irrigation for the remainder of the year if drought conditions develop during the growing season (through August 15).  A drought metric determines if and when irrigation must be suspended under the contract. That metric is 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the seven-day average flow at the Milford flow gage in Ichawaynochaway Creek. If flows go below the drought metric before August 15, the contract requires irrigation suspension for the remainder of the year.

This graph shows when the seven-day average flow dropped below 50 cfs (red line)  at Milford between 1999 and 2021.  It has not dropped below that level since 2013.  The chart indicates the first day of the year in each of the eight years when flows dropped below that level.