***************************************
The Environmental Protection Department today (October 12) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Twenty-three beaches were graded as Good (Grade 1), and 10 were graded as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Middle Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Shek O Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach South Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Stanley Main Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Trio Beach
Kwun Yam Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach Golden Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Kadoorie Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Pui O Beach
Discovery Bay* 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, Clear Water Bay First Beach has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1.
"The change is generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beach," an EPD spokesman said.
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 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, October 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:58
NNNN
