Since 2001, the Bedford Group of Internal Drainage Boards comprises three IDBs in the upper reaches of the Great Ouse catchment, largely in Bedfordshire, but also Milton Keynes,  small areas in north Oxfordshire, north Buckinghamshire, north Hertfordshire and south-east Cambridgeshire.  The Group manages a total of 1147 km of watercourses within its Drainage District, serving an agricultural area of 37736 ha and an urban area of 7176 ha.