An ambitious project to shore up future water supply for the Greater Darwin region has progressed to the initial stage of environmental assessment. With the city’s population and gas industry development forecast to grow over coming decades the responsible management of water is emerging as a priority.
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00:00The Northern Territory's Adelaide River is a haven for crocodiles, barramundi and
00:07water birds and could one day, with the reopening of Manton Dam, provide drinking water to people
00:13in Darwin.
00:14The whole project will double the water supply for the greater Darwin region, which is really
00:21important to future proof us.
00:24Known as the Arrows Project, the $1.6 billion plan involves diverting flood water from the
00:30Adelaide River into an off-stream basin during the wet season.
00:34This week, it was referred to the Environment Protection Authority for assessment.
00:39The Arrows Project is still going through all of its initial design and approvals processes.
00:45The NT's peak body for amateur fishing broadly supports the idea, saying the plan is less
00:51damaging to the environment than building a dam in the Adelaide River.
00:55One of the benefits of being able to pump the water when the water is available is that
00:59you can also take only the water that you need.
01:03An NT government commissioned business case published in 2022 forecast water demand in
01:092050 to come from three key areas.
01:12Domestic use in cities such as Darwin and Palmerston, agriculture projects across greater
01:17Darwin, and oil and gas processing at their proposed Middle Arm industrial hub.
01:23The Arrows Project has been years in the making, and while securing the territory's future
01:28drinking water supply is a worthy goal, some experts say the government's real intention
01:33is to reserve water for gas industry expansion at Middle Arm.
01:37This water that is going to come from Arrows will go towards a gas processing facility
01:43to extract more fossil fuels that will ultimately accelerate climate change.
01:49Territorians need security around safe drinking water, and this dam is going to be able to
01:53provide that to Territorians as well as increase capacity to bring online the industrial developments
01:59we need to grow our economy and create jobs now and into the future.
02:03Public consultation on the project is now open for six weeks.