News articles discussing threats to San Saba River:
Explains why American Rivers selected the San Saba River as the third most endangered river in the United States [DOWNLOAD PDF]
News Release and FAQs about USFWS’s proposed federal rule to list six Central Texas Mussels under the Endangered Species Act. [FAQS PDF DOWNLOAD] [US FISH & WILDLIFE PDF DOWNLOAD]
Discusses function of mussels and Federal and State efforts to protect endangered Central Texas Mussels [PDF DOWNLOAD]
Discusses domestic & livestock water rights and TCEQ priority calls in the summer of 2013, the American Rivers 2013 most endangered rivers list, watermasters, and the Menard Irrigation Canal.
Discusses TCEQ’s 2017 watermaster evaluation for the Colorado River Basin and San Saba River. [TEXAS OBSERVER ARTICLE LINK] [DOWNLOAD PDF]
Discusses why a 40-mile stretch of the San Saba River keeps drying up, including discussion about alluvial wells, domestic & livestock water rights, and freshwater mussels. [TEXAS OBSERVER LINK] [DOWNLOAD PDF]
This email says the TCEQ does not enforce the superior water rights of riparian landowners outside of watermaster areas. [DOWNLOAD PDF]
Discusses Brady, Texas Hearing held by the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources, which included testimony from upstream and downstream landowners on the San Saba River, state agencies, hydrologists, and other experts. [TEXAS OBSERVER LINK] [DOWNLOAD PDF]
Interview with managers of MCWCID that discusses history and current status of the Menard Canal. [IRRIGATIONLEADERMAGAZINE.COM ARTICLE LINK] [DOWNLOAD PDF]
Resources
The following links provide further helpful information:
- LCRA Hydromet [https://hydromet.lcra.org/]
- USGS Current Conditions for San Saba River at Menard [https://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv/?site_no=08144500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060]
- USGS Streamflow Measurements for San Saba River at Menard [https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/measurements/?site_no=08144500]
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality:
- Homepage [https://www.tceq.texas.gov/]
- Priority Calls [https://www.tceq.texas.gov/response/drought/claiming-water-rights]
- Watermasters [https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/water_rights/wmaster/wmaster.html]
- The Nature Conservancy in Texas [https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/texas/]
- Hill Country Alliance [https://www.hillcountryalliance.org/]
- Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative [https://hillcountryconservancy.org/land-projects/land-projects-hchci/]
Friends of the San Saba River (“FOSS”) is leading the fight against the three proposed routes for the Oncor/LCRA 765kV high-voltage transmission line. FOSS released the following video that explains how the proposed transmission line threatens the San Saba River. Please also see the “Protecting the San Saba” cover story published by Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) in the March 2026 issue of The Cattleman at the following link: https://tscra.org/
