Farmers, frackers and other water users will be allowed to extract 210 billion litres of water per year from the aquifers that feed the river as part of an allocation plan released by the former territory government. Ms Lake and other traditional owners have travelled to Canberra to plead with the federal government to strengthen environmental laws to establish a national environment watchdog. That would include a requirement for cotton farmers, pastoralists or fracking company proposals for water allocations to be referred under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.