The Ehen continues past Cleator Moor and Cleator, where it is fed by the River Keekle, moving southwards through Egremont and eventually running parallel to the Irish Sea which it eventually joins at Sellafield at the same point as the River Calder.
[6] It is the only river in England to be part of the project "Pearls in Peril", funded by the European Union's LIFE + NATURE Programme.
[7] The freshwater pearl mussel relies for part of its life on the presence of salmonids, a group of fish including salmon and trout.
Sellafield has previously used water from the River Ehen for cooling on the site, but ceased this operation in the 1990s.
[8] However, there are plans to supply these customers using a new pipeline from Thirlmere because the Environment Agency has confirmed that for environmental reasons it will rescind the abstraction licence for Ennerdale.