Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority (“LCRA”) are jointly proposing to build a new 765kV transmission line from Oncor’s Bell County East switch near Temple, to LCRA’s Big Hill Substation in northwest Schleicher County. Oncor and LCRA have identified three proposed routes for their transmission line. All three routes would have a significant negative impact on the San Saba River located in Texas’ Flash Flood Alley.
For more information, please see:
- Maps on this page that show (1) where the three proposed routes cross or adjoin the San Saba River (see top of webpage), and (2) the map published by Oncor and LCRA of the three proposed routes for their 765kV transmission line (see bottom of webpage).
- Our video included below about: (1) the Pristine San Saba River, and (2) how the proposed Oncor/LCRA 765kV transmission line threatens the San Saba River. You can also go directly to the FOSS video on YouTube at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08SrpsjfzbM
Texas does not have any 765kV transmission lines today. A 765kV transmission line would carry over twice the voltage that Texas’ largest transmission lines carry today. The conductors and wires for a 765kV line are extremely heavy and carry so much electricity that they require huge, broad based, multi-armed 140-foot-tall steel lattice towers to support the conductors and wires. A 765kV transmission line requires a minimum 200-foot horizontal right of way and all trees or structures in the right of way must be removed.
The three proposed routes would increase flooding potential and create a massive increase of sedimentation entering the San Saba River, which would negatively impact the water supply for fish, wildlife, endangered freshwater mussels, and landowners who rely on the San Saba River for residential and livestock use.
Friends of the San Saba (“FOSS”) is leading the fight against the three proposed routes for the Oncor/LCRA 765kV high-voltage transmission line. FOSS believes Oncor and LCRA should construct their 765kV transmission line along existing or planned highway rights-of-way or along existing easements. The transmission line should not be constructed near the San Saba River where it will adversely impact fish, endangered freshwater mussels, wildlife, livestock and landowners.
Please e-mail FOSS at friendsofthesansaba@gmail.com if you would like more information about our fight against the three proposed routes for the Oncor/LCRA 765kV transmission line.
July 4th Floods in Texas’ Flash Flood Alley
On July 4, 2025, a catastrophic flash flood struck the Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River in Kerr County rose 26 feet in 45 minutes near Hunt with a flow rate that surpassed Niagara Falls. This flash flood caused 117 deaths, including 27 young girls and staff from Camp Mystic.
The San Saba River rose over 30 feet with a flow of over 90,000 cubic feet per second. Normally the San Saba River is 2 to 3 feet deep with a flow of 20 to 30 cubic feet per second. There were no deaths from the San Saba River flood because it flows along rural, privately owned ranch land. But there was significant property damage to fences, structures, trees and natural habitat.
Central Texas Rivers, including the San Saba and Guadalupe Rivers, are known as “Texas’ Flash Flood Alley” due to a unique combination of steep topography, rocky limestone geology, and a location between Gulf of Mexico moisture and cooler dry air masses, which create intense and rapid rainfall. This combination causes water to rush quickly into the hilly region, overwhelming rivers and creeks, and creating frequent, dangerous flash floods.
We don’t understand why Oncor and LCRA want to build an expensive and dangerous 765kV transmission line through Texas’ Flash Flood Alley, where the powerful force of floodwater will erode riverbanks, wash away support structures and possibly cause transmission towers to collapse leading to downed high voltage 765kV power lines, widespread power outages and possible blackouts of the Texas Power Grid.
Friends of the San Saba (“FOSS”)
Friends of the San Saba was created in 2012 to protect the water flow of the San Saba River. FOSS members include riparian landowners along the San Saba River and other concerned citizens.
FOSS is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations to FOSS are tax deductible. FOSS does not require any dues, and we do not have any membership requirements. No salaries or compensation are paid to any FOSS directors or members.
Please see the following web pages for detailed information about our efforts to protect the San Saba River:
- The “About” web page talks about FOSS and the actions FOSS has taken to keep the San Saba River flowing.
- The “San Saba River Threats” web page explains the historical problems with water flow in the San Saba River. At the bottom of this page are links to five different detailed write-ups that expand on these threats. Each detailed write-up includes links to news articles and other reference material.
How is FOSS fighting the Three Proposed Routes?
Our fight against the three proposed transmission line routes includes the following actions:
- Lobby for flood mitigation legislation during the Legislative Special Session that will protect real property, livestock, human lives and the San Saba River Stream Corridor.
- Meet with legislators, their staff, and regulatory agencies and ask them to pressure Oncor and LCRA to maintain the established precedent for electric transmission line routing in the Texas Hill Country by moving the proposed line from the San Saba River Stream Corridor to existing/planned highway rights-of-way or existing easements.
- Meet with LCRA and Oncor to convince them to move their proposed transmission line to areas outside of the San Saba River Stream Corridor.
LCRA Project Web Page & Interactive Map
The following two links provide more information about the Oncor/LCRA proposed transmission line, including an interactive map that will allow you to zoom in and out to see the three proposed routes, down to each individual property.
The first link goes to the Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV Transmission Project web page on the LCRA website:
On this page you can see background information about the project, proposed routing, and the project timeline. Scroll down past the timeline and under Resources, you will see a link to an “interactive mapping tool”. Click on the following link to go directly to this interactive map:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ed2f71989d64427d8be2c19c065e1269
You can then locate your property on the map (using the highways and county roads as a guide) and then zoom in to your specific property. You can see County Roads if you zoom in enough. The numbers used on the properties are numbers assigned by LCRA and are not the same as your parcel numbers.
Oncor and LCRA published the following map showing the three proposed routes for their 765kV transmission line from the Bell County East Switch to the Big Hill Substation:
