It it is responsible for water management, including maintenance of the extensive system of irrigation canals and dams and other related tasks.

The ministry was divided into five separate commissions and eleven state-owned companies.

This was eventually reduced by the Coalition Provisional Authority to six Directors General.

It was also retasked with flooding the southern marshlands that had been ordered drained.

[2] On 10 May 2004, CPA administrator Paul Bremer declared the Ministry to be fully autonomous with Latif Rashid as its head at the time.