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Good practice Imported

AI-Assisted 'Smart Dam' Pilot for Water-Flow Monitoring on Iraq's Kufa and Al-Abbasiya Regulators

Iraq · Kufa · See the Iraq profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 100% 7/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Iraq's Prime Ministerial AI Advisor announced a small-scale AI trial at the Kufa and Al-Abbasiya water regulators near Najaf to monitor water flow and flood risk in real time; officials describe it as an early pilot with a further 'smart dam' planned for Basra, but no performance

80-year low
Iraq water reserves level (2025)
AI-Assisted 'Smart Dam' Pilot for Water-Flow Monitoring on Iraq's Kufa and Al-Abbasiya Regulators

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq — Advisory Office for Artificial Intelligence
Period
Announced 24 June 2025; small-scale trial, no stated end date
Keywords
water resource management, flood early warning, environmental monitoring, government AI strategy

Context

On 24 June 2025, Diaa Al-Jumaili, the Iraqi Prime Minister's Advisor for Artificial Intelligence, announced that Iraq had begun trialling AI-based 'smart dam' technology at the Kufa and Al-Abbasiya water regulators in Najaf Governorate, amid Iraq's water reserves reportedly reaching an 80-year low in 2025.

Objectives

The stated purpose is to let AI systems detect the quantity and quality of water inflow and outflow and anticipate flood risk in real time, as a first step toward eventually managing the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt al-Arab as a connected reservoir system.

Activities

Al-Jumaili explicitly described the project as operating 'at small scale' as a trial, with a further large-scale smart dam planned for Basra. The pilot sits within a broader push endorsed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani at the 5th Baghdad International Water Conference in May 2025, referencing 'automated dam and water storage management' as part of a regional 'Our Water… Our Future' water initiative, and within Iraq's wider national AI strategy (INSAIN 2024–2030).

Results

No performance metrics, budget figures, implementing ministry beyond the Prime Minister's Advisory Office, or completion date have been published as of mid-2026.

Conclusions

This is an announced, small-scale government AI pilot, not a deployed and evaluated system, and should be read as a case worth tracking rather than a proven success.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq — Advisory Office for Artificial Intelligence (Diaa Al-Jumaili)

Conditions for success

  • Framed explicitly as a small-scale trial before any wider rollout
  • Positioned within a broader national water initiative and national AI strategy (INSAIN 2024–2030) for institutional backing

Common failure modes

  • No performance metrics, budget, or implementing ministry beyond the Advisory Office disclosed
  • Coverage limited to a single advisor's public statement with no independent technical detail

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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