The Conservation Corps Green Team and Northeast Avalon ACAP are joining forces to research and clean up so-called lost waterways in the capital city region.

The Green Team is using GIS technology to analyze the water quality of the Virginia River and is working on cleaning up the area to help protect and preserve the waterway and the wildlife that live in and around it.

Green Team Leader Raj Tilva says they are collecting a variety of data including depth and velocity, culvert condition, PH value, dissolved oxygen, salt content and temperature conditions among other things.

The team will conduct a second round of measurements in two weeks’ time for comparison.

Tilva says they chose the Virginia River because there are portions of the waterway that are not maintained well. He says they’re hoping that the information they collect can be used for future work on monitoring the river.