Water experts and environmentalists are calling for the federal government to take action over the Northern Territory government's massive proposed ground water extraction plan that includes an allocation for gas fracking.
Hydrologists say allowing more than 262 billion litres of water to be pumped per year from an aquifer under the gas-rich Beetaloo Basin is likely to endanger rivers, Indigenous sacred sites, tourism and livestock.
Their findings were published in a report commissioned by Environment Centre NT about the risks of harvesting the equivalent of half the water in Sydney Harbour annually from the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer, the proposed source.
"The science is now clear - these plans could endanger the NT's iconic rivers, springs and billabongs, sacred sites, tourism and drinking water for remote Indigenous communities," director Kirsty Howey said on Tuesday.