In rural Utah, concern rises over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithium

St. George News

Center

In rural Utah, concern rises over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithium

GREEN RIVER (AP) — A plan to extract lithium — the lustrous, white metal used in electric vehicle batteries — in southeast Utah is adding to an anxiety familiar in the arid American West: how the project could affect water from the Colorado River. Gayna Salinas walks along her property bordering the Green River, a tributary of the Colorado River, in Green River, Utah. An Australian company and its U.S. subsidiaries are eyeing a nearby area to ex…