The Great Dismal Swamp Boardwalk Hydrology Project began in the Fall of 1996. Its purpose is to determine the quality of the water in the Great Dismal Swamp and to understand how and why the water quality changes. This report offers the data collected and tries to explain the changes that take place with the swamp's water throughout the year in regard to water table pulsing, pH, nitrate nitrogen, phosphate, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen.

Water samples were collected in the Great Dismal Swamp from shallow wells and then tested at Elizabeth City State University. Various instruments were used in the water tests, including: a spectrophotometer, a pH meter, a dissolved oxygen meter, and a conductivity meter.