***************************************
The Environmental Protection Department today (September 14) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Nineteen beaches were graded as Good (Grade 1), and 14 were graded as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Chung Hom Kok Beach Shek O Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Discovery Bay* St. Stephen's Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Stanley Main Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Trio Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Middle Bay Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Repulse Bay Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Golden Beach
Butterfly Beach Kadoorie Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Kiu Tsui Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Kwun Yam Beach
Castle Peak Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Pui O Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silverstrand 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.
Compared with the grading released last week, Chung Hom Kok Beach and Middle Bay Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Kadoorie Beach has been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Clear Water Bay First Beach, Kwun Yam Beach and Silverstrand Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
"The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," an Environmental Protection Department spokesman said.
Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions. Under our present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water.
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 these 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.
Ends/Friday, September 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:35
NNNN
