In the contentious talks over how states will split the shrinking Colorado River, negotiators are reaching consensus on one point: Just go with the “natural flow.” The concept is a somewhat simple one. Instead of negotiating future cuts across the entire seven-state region, the process would rely on recent water records — the amount of water flowing from the Colorado River headwaters in the Upper Basin to a point in Arizona marking the boundary of the Lower Basin states. Negotiators recently heralded the move as a potential breakthrough in the long-stalled talks: It could help end a stalemate over how to share the pain of future water reductions and at the same time respond to the impacts of climate change. But that belies a set of lingering questions. For one, just determining the water in the river will require complex calculations relying on evolving research. Even more critically, there’s no indication negotiators are close on the particularly difficult issue of deciding how big a share of water each group of states can claim. Still, observers say it could mark an important change.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

• Politico: The Colorado River’s top climate expert [Brad Udall] is worried
• AZ Big Media (Phoenix): Colorado River water guidelines expire soon. What comes next?
• Earth.com: Why the Southwest megadrought is here to stay
• KUER (Salt Lake City, Utah): Cottonwoods used to line the Colorado River in Utah. What’ll bring the trees back?