Around the world, allocating water is a major task of national and sub-national water laws. Although each jurisdiction develops its laws uniquely in response to local conditions, common trends emerge across multiple jurisdictions. The 21st century has seen a geographic broadening of administrative planning and permitting or licensing arrangements for allocating traditional water sources. Allocation regimes also increasingly cover non-traditional water sources that previously fell outside their bounds, including brackish groundwater, rainwater and recycled water. Recognizing interactions between sources is of increasing concern to allocation regimes. Legal developments also provide for an increasing array of water users and other participants in allocation processes. Traditionally, allocation arrangements have centered on significant agricultural, municipal, industrial and other commercial uses. More recently, water law increasingly contemplates granting allocations to, or controlling, uses for environmental purposes and cultural purposes, and broadening access beyond current water rights holders under water market rules. Both constitutional and water laws increasingly recognize a human right to water, and increasingly inclusive processes apply to formulating water plans that guide or influence allocation regimes. These developments are not uniformly present, or present to the same degree, in all jurisdictions. However, encouragingly, they demonstrate increased recognition of the need to respond to water scarcity and give greater attention to equity and inclusion among water users and participants in allocation regimes.