The Murray-Darling Basin proposal is the best chance to save the river system, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says.
The figures set out in the guide released by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) were based on the minimum levels that science tells us is needed to save the river system, she said.
The MDBA has determined that between 27 and 37 per cent of current water extractions need to be returned to the river system across the whole basin, and between 26 and 35 per cent in the SA River Murray corridor.
Ms Hanson-Young said that for too long, water has been over-allocated in the Murray-Darling Basin.
"Now we desperately need reform to reduce the amount of water we take out of the system, and return it to the river," she said in a statement on Friday.
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"To do that, we can't afford to have the recommendations watered down. "If we want to save the river, this is what we have to do, otherwise everyone loses."
The Greens believe it is vital that where water extraction levels are reduced, the federal government must provide adequate investment and infrastructure support to allow people to do more with less water.
