The beck is fed from groundwater springs of the Lincolnshire limestone aquifer, with clear freshwater and aquatic plant growth typical of calcareous conditions.

[4] During an epidemic of whooping cough just after the year 1900 in the village, mothers took their children in prams and set them in the stream, believing the germs would be washed away by the flow of the healing freshwater.

[5] The beck has long been the site of traditional well dressing ceremonies, which involved decorating the local spring to act as a "thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessing of a bountiful supply of pure water to Welton".

[6] The custom took place annually on Ascension Day, where five wells were dressed in the village, starting with one in the churchyard, then one on the property of the vicarage, two at West Carr, and one at Spring Cottage on Sudbeck Lane.

The spring at the source of the river is called Old Man's Head, and emerges around a large concrete culvert, appearing to bubble up around through the stones to the side of the channel.

[5] About 1.5 km (0.93 mi) downstream from the river's source at Old Man's Head, the pond near Norbeck Farm, located directly south of the beck, upstream from Welton town, first appears on the 1966 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map, inferring an approximate date of construction to be between 1956 and 1966.

From the bridge on Vicarage Lane, past the St Mary's Church to the playing field in the town, the beck is straight and steeper, bordered by private residences, with a poor aquatic habitat, being uniformly shallow and completely devoid of deeper pools.

The flow conveyance capacity is small, as with other bridges across the beck, though this does allow a deeper scour pool to be created downstream by the natural funnelling effect of the water through the culvert.

The beck is generally confined by the straight walls of gardens past Ryland Bridge, before reaching the naturally more meandering section as it enters into a wooded area, straddling Welton and Dunholme parishes alongside a pond off the left bank, which is used by the Scunthorpe Pisces Angling Club.

From the ford at Watery Lane, downstream through Dunholme and past St Chad's Church, the beck has almost exclusively walled banks constructed to be uniformly shallow and wide to provide greater conveyance in the rare event of higher flows, protecting nearby properties from flooding.

River re-naturalisation projects upstream of Welton, around Norbeck Farm, could also improve biodiversity, as well as introduce new amenities and help reduce flood risk.