The fledgling Jefferson River Watershed Council – which had barely existed a year ago -- managed to reach consensus on a drought management plan and instream flow targets. Through a combination of conservation measures, shared sacrifice, and better communication, the watershed council met its instream flow targets for all but seven days. This included a goal of keeping at least 50 cubic feet per second in the river below Waterloo Bridge. The river never experienced the extremely low September flows that were seen in the previous drought year of 1994.

While streams were going dry all over Montana, flows in the upper Jefferson River actually increased almost continuously during the first three weeks of August. The three largest ditches on the river substantially limited their diversions, and flows in these ditches were 5 - 20% below normal almost continuously from mid-July onward.