In the 1620s, there was discontent in the region through which the New Bedford River now flows, as the land was regularly inundated by flood water.

He was joined in the project by thirteen other adventurers, who formed a corporation and obtained a charter to carry out the work in 1634.

[2] Some of the workers who built the New Bedford River may have been Scottish prisoners-of-war captured at the Battle of Dunbar, since a number of such prisoners were used on drainage schemes in the Fens, because labourers were scarce.

After 1652, they were supplemented by Dutch prisoners, as a result of sea battles between Admiral Blake and Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp during the First Anglo-Dutch War, and probably by a colony of French workers stationed near Thorney Abbey.

The origins of this channel, which is sometimes called the thirty-foot drain, are obscure, although it was built to assist the removal of water from the washlands, according to C. N. Cole writing in 1784.

The cost of rebuilding the dam at the end of the process was considerable, and this unsatisfactory arrangement was replaced by a sluice.

[6] The New Bedford River follows a fairly straight course, heading approximately north-east for 20.8 miles (33.5 km) from Earith to Denver Sluice.

[8] Care is needed to ensure that boats remain in the centre of the channel, particularly during the winter months when the river may be overflowing into the Ouse Washes.

The reserve occupies 990 acres (400 ha), and is accessible from the A1101 bridge by following a minor road to the carpark, and then crossing the New Bedford River by a footbridge.

[13] There are public footpaths on both sides of the river for most of its length, the only exception being a short section of the western bank near Earith.

A long-distance footpath called the Hereward Way crosses the river by the A1101 bridge at Welney, and then follows the eastern bank southwards almost to the March to Ely railway line.

The new plant consisted of a beam engine manufactured by the Butterley Company and rated at 80 hp (60 kW).

There were continual problems with the land levels dropping due to shrinkage of the peat, resulting in the intake needing to be lowered.

Prior to the opening ceremony, the Drainage Commissioners held a celebration lunch at the Club Hotel, Ely, where their predecessors had met for the first time in 1756.

There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish.

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.