“We are obviously taking precautions around water restrictions and water measures, that’s about future planning and just being cautious about the upcoming season,” Ms Moss said. 

“I think tourism here is absolutely booming.”

Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters in Darwin last week he was concerned about how water restrictions to manage our PFAS contamination would affect Katherine’s tourism industry. 

“This is something we have to manage, it’s something I worry about, but I think what will be worse is if we didn’t do this and we got to a couple of days in September and October and suddenly we’re on bottled water,” Mr Gunner said. 

Ms Moss did not comment on whether the government had a responsibility to tell tourists that our drinking water has spiked over safe limits at least four times since November 2016.

The NT Government said studies had been “inconclusive” on whether or not PFAS was harmful to humans and maintains that Katherine’s tap water is safe to drink. 

The NSW Government website says “potential adverse health effects cannot be excluded”.

It also suggests pregnant women “minimise their exposure to PFOS and PFOA”.

According to the World Health Organisation “epidemiological studies have found an association between exposure to PFOA and PFOS and increased cholesterol, increased liver enzymes, decreased vaccination response, thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia”.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified PFOA as possibly carcinogenic to humans.