Ditching for logging and agriculture in forested peatlands occurs worldwide and can impact the role these systems serve as carbon sinks in the global carbon cycle. Peatlands under natural conditions accrue and store rich organic matter over extensive timescales due to anaerobic conditions that limit decomposition. Ditching facilitates rapid decomposition of peat by creating aerobic conditions that stimulate oxidation and upon rewetting, results in dissolved organic matter (DOM). The release of organic matter from soils into surface water remains an understudied component in the carbon budget of the Great Dismal Swamp. We describe the changes in the composition of DOM as water flows over a 30,000 hectare catchment within the refuge, with conditions including a 2000 hectare wildfire burn, historic and restored stands of Atlantic White Cedar, and varying intensity of ditched and drained areas. We predict that local conditions and disturbances will be reflected in the peat stock as WSOM (Water-Soluble Organic Matter), or the potential of soils in the affected area to release organic matter into suspension. Furthermore, through sampling the network of ditches and canals throughout the catchment, we expect to see the quality of DOM to change with proximity to differing sources of WSOM. We analyze 92 Excitation-Emission Matrices (EEMS) scans performed on leachate and surface water samples to develop a Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) model that can be applied to each scan for source attribution and comparison of leachate to adjacent surface water. Further analysis including temporal relations of in-situ fluorometer data to flow records within the refuge and additional seasonally-aligned synoptic sampling campaigns will describe the export and loading of DOM from refuge-managed peat stocks to the downstream DOM pool in the Pasquotank River, a tributary to the nearby Albemarle Sound and Atlantic Ocean.