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.
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