River E

The River E is a short Highland stream that rises in the Monadh Liath hills south-east of Loch Ness. It flows north-west for about ten kilometres before joining Loch Mhòr. The catchment covers 26.7 square kilometres and receives around 1.4 metres of rain each year. Water from the neighbouring River Fechlin is sent along a 1970s aqueduct into the River E. Up to 24 cubic metres per second can be diverted through the Fechlin scheme, tumbling over energy-dissipating weirs about a kilometre above Loch Mhòr. A small hydro-electric plant on the river uses a single weir at just over 500 metres elevation. The powerhouse is fed by an 800-millimetre pipe nearly four kilometres long, driving a twin-jet Pelton turbine that generates three megawatts. The plant was built in 2006 and commissioned the following year. Visitors can walk the riverbank and watch the water drop over the weirs before it disappears into the loch.