The New Cut Drain runs parallel to the river from here, and they pass under the A1136 road and either side of the Freshney Bog Nature Reserve.

[1] Freshney Bog was constructed in 2001 as a washland, which could be used to hold excess water when the channel below it could not cope with the flow in the river.

Groundwater levels rose by over 16 feet (4.9 m) in the week prior to the floods, and with the ground saturated, the capacity of the river and the New Cut Drain was exceeded.

Freshney Bog storage area filled up, but had insufficient capacity for the volume of water, and as a result, flooding occurred, which affected 200 houses.

This work was planned after the significant flooding event that occurred on 21 July 2007 when the river rose to a record (at the time) 3.25 feet (0.99 m).

[citation needed] The Environment Agency measure water quality of the river systems in England.

The reasons for water quality being less than good include physical modification of the channel, groundwater abstraction, sewage discharge and poor soil management of the surrounding agricultural land.

Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.

[9] The Friends of the Freshney was formed in the 2000s under the Chairmanship of Chris Scott, and have organised regular clean-ups of the lower river.

96 volunteers from 17 local groups spent around three hours each removing rubbish from the river between Boulevard Avenue and Anderson Street.

By working alongside Grimsby In Bloom, Lilliput Waste Disposal, other organisations and local residents it is making a difference with the main focus being on regular management to keep it in good shape.