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The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (June 13) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Seventeen beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 15 were graded as Fair (Grade 2) and one was graded as Very Poor (Grade 4).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Middle Bay Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Pui O Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Stanley Main Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Kwun Yam Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Golden Beach
Butterfly Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Shek O Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach Silverstrand Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach Trio Beach
Discovery Bay*
Grade 4 beach is Kadoorie 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, Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach, Chung Hom Kok Beach, Kiu Tsui Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Pui O Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Clear Water Bay Second Beach, St. Stephen's Beach and Trio Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Kadoorie Beach has been changed from Grade 3 to Grade 4.
¡§The very poor water quality of Kadoorie Beach is due to the accumulated effect of heavy rainfall in the last few weeks, which flushed pollutants from the beach hinterland into the water,¡¨ 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 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.
Ends/Friday, June 13, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01
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