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WATER MINING? ONLY IN THE TERRITORY - DON'T FRACK THE ROPER - TAKE ACTION NOW

This is urgent. Add your name and join the Territorians telling the Water Controller that they won’t accept water mining.

Only in the Territory will you find natural springs like Bitter Springs. These spectacular springs are iconic, and are fed by the vast Tindall aquifer that keeps the Roper River flowing all year round. Unfortunately these springs – and the Roper River - are at risk from industry plans to take vast amounts of water for fracking. 

A company called Terrritory Sands has applied for a licence to extract 1.2 billion litres of groundwater every year from the Tindall aquifer, near Larrimah. This water will be used to clean sand for a huge sand mine which may supply up to 100 million tonnes of sand to fracking companies in the Beetaloo Basin.

Here's the thing. The only way this water can be made available is if the Northern Territory Government changes the water allocation rules to allow unsustainable “mining” of the aquifer. As we revealed earlier this year, the Government is now using the so-called “Arid Zone” contingent allocation rules for water licences in this region, which allow up to 80% of an aquifer’s storage to be extracted, instead of 20% of an aquifer’s annual recharge. These rules are unsustainable, because they allow water to be extracted at a faster rate than it can replenish. If they are used for water allocations across the Beetaloo Basin, this could have devastating impacts on Bitter Springs, and the dry season flows of the Roper River.

As water law expert Dr Erin O’Donnell has stated, this is “really dangerous decision-making”.

Let the Water Controller know that Territorians won’t accept water mining for fracking, or any other industry. There’s simply too much at stake.

Don't let them frack the Roper, make sure you sign our submission before 2 September 2022.

The stakes are high, and I really need you to take action and ask the Water Controller to reject this water licence or have the sand mining project referred for a full environmental assessment.

Submissions are due on Friday, 2 September, so you don’t have long to act.

Please click the button below and sign the submission now. Make sure to introduce yourself at the start of the submission and add your name and suburb at the end of the submission.

Act now to Save the Roper, before its too late. 

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