***************************************
The Environmental Protection Department today (March 30) released the latest grading of water quality of thirty-three beaches.
Among them, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Deep Water Bay Beach, Golden Beach and Silverstrand Beach are open to swimmers year round.
Four other beaches in the Southern District have been opened for swimming since March 1. They are Big Wave Bay Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Repulse Bay Beach and Stanley Main Beach.
"Among the eight beaches that have already been opened, six beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and two were rated as Fair (Grade 2)," a spokesman for the department said.
Grade 1 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach
Middle Bay Beach
Repulse Bay Beach
Stanley Main Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Golden Beach
Silverstrand Beach
Apart from the above eight beaches, twenty-five other beaches will be opened for swimming on April 1. Eighteen beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), six were rated as Fair (Grade 2) and one beach was rated as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach
Discovery Bay*
Hap Mun Bay Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach
Kwun Yam Beach
Lo So Shing Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Pui O Beach
Shek O Beach
South Bay Beach
St. Stephen's Beach
Tong Fuk Beach
Trio Beach
Turtle Cove Beach
Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach
Cafeteria New Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach
Castle Peak Beach
Kadoorie Beach
Silver Mine Bay Beach
Grade 3 beach is Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach.
The beach with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach. All gazetted beaches are equipped with shark nets.
Beach grades are published weekly before the weekend. The information may also be obtained from the department's website at www.epd.gov.hk or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
Under our present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water.
Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
Grade 4 is assigned to beaches whose last E. coli reading exceeded a threshold figure, irrespective of the geometric mean. Swimmers are advised to avoid these beaches until the water quality improves.
Seven gazetted beaches - Anglers' Beach, Approach Beach, Ting Kau Beach, Casam Beach, Gemini Beaches, Hoi Mei Wan Beach and Lido Beach - are closed to swimmers year round because of poor water quality.
People are advised not to swim at the closed beaches.
The spokesman warned that many beaches were likely to be more polluted than their grades suggested during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.
Meanwhile, the department published a report entitled "Beach Water Quality in Hong Kong 2006". The report, which summarises the state of local beaches in 2006, is available at the department's website.
Ends/Friday, March 30, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:00
NNNN
