ICID has been organizing its flagship triennial event International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage since 1951. The ICID triennial Congresses are organized to discuss and evaluate the upcoming and dynamic changes within the water sector in the entire world. In the face of global warming, changing climatic conditions, exploding population, increasing demand, and ever-changing technological advancements, ICID Congresses aims to deliberate and develop solutions for the concurrent challenges in this sector. Considering the multi-disciplinary nature of issues, the congresses address the bigger concerns faced by the global population in terms of water-food security, water-saving and the availability of water for everyone.

Every third year, from the emerging global trends, two Questions or thematic areas are identified, on which papers are presented, a Special Session, Symposium, and History Seminar is organized and showcased on our global platform. Participation is usually open to all National Committees and their members; to the nationals of member countries; other qualified international organizations; and, some of the invitees from non-member countries.  The technical proceedings of the Congresses are compiled in the form of Transactions which are considered to be an authoritative guide and reference volume to researchers and professionals across the world, including farmers at grassroots levels. 

The 1st ICID Congress was held in 1951 in Delhi.  So far, ICID has held 23 Triennial Congresses, the most recent one being, the – 23^rd  ICID Congress held in Mexico City in the month of October 2017. The list of questions addressed by Congress clearly indicates a progressive shift from purely technical questions to multi-sectoral concerns of sustainability, water accounting, and global water and food security issues.

For example, questions for the second Congress (1954) were related to problems of freeboard in irrigation canals, the maintenance of irrigation canals with special reference to weed control and safe yields and recharge of groundwater, followed by questions on economics and financing of irrigation and flood control works and rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation and drainage systems at the – 5^th  Congress in1963. 15^th  Congress at Hague in 1993 discussed the Water management and institutional aspects while the 18th  Congress held in 2003 at Montreal, Canada, initiated the discussions on food production under water scarcity, poverty alleviation and environmental challenges figured in the deliberations. Over the last few years, the focus has shifted to multi-sectoral debates like the Roles of public and private sectors in water resources development and management and sustainable Integrated Water Resource Management as discussed at the 20th International Congress held at Lahore, Pakistan in 2008 to the more recent questions of Modernizing Irrigation and Drainage for a New Green Revolution was discussed at 23rd ICID Congress, held at Mexico City in 2017.