There’s a break in the clouds that have hovered over Colorado River negotiations for more than a year. State water leaders appear to be coalescing behind a new proposal for sharing the river after talks were stuck in a deadlock for more than a year. The river is used by nearly 40 million people across seven states and Mexico, but it’s shrinking due to climate change. As a result, state leaders need to rein in demand. For months, they were mired in a standoff about how to interpret a century-old legal agreement. The new proposal is completely different. Instead of those states leaning on old rules that don’t account for climate change, they’re proposing a new system that divides the river based on how much water is in it today. … The new plan says the amount should be based on a three-year rolling average of the “natural flows” in the river — basically, how much water would flow through it if human dams and diversion weren’t in the way.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

• Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Can Arizona come together to share Colorado River cuts? Talks have begun
• KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.): Poll finds Arizonans deeply concerned about water, want government to do more
• Colorado Public Radio: While drought hits the Western Slope, southeastern Colorado looks okay — for now
• Sky-Hi News (Granby, Colo.): Colorado whitewater rafting companies report steady flow of customers, splashy start to the season despite low snowpack levels