As state courts have proceeded with general stream adjudications in the last 30 years, the federal reserved water rights held by tribal nations have drawn public attention, judicial deliberation, and, in some cases, legislative action. Tribes have increased their engagement in water management and litigation. State governments have worked to address tribal water rights, and the Federal Government has made an effort to resolve the Tribes' water issues. All this activity has continued the evolution of tribal water rights law, including:

• types of uses for tribal water rights (e.g. instream flow)

• relationships among tribal, state and local governments

• Federal Government tribal trust responsibilities

• processes for litigating and settling tribal water rights claims

• tribal safe drinking water issues