A watching brief by OAU on trial pits excavated by the Environment Agency on the site of a proposed new wetland habitat, revealed silts and clays over natural gravel. These silts and clays, which presumably represent inundation’s by the river, were sealed by modern dredgings. A subsequent watching brief by OAU on the excavation of trial pits on the site of a proposed fish spawning channel, also for the Environment Agency, revealed a similar sequence of deposits.