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The Environmental Protection Department today (June 27) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Five beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 23 were graded as Fair (Grade 2) and five were graded as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Hap Mun Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Middle Bay Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Cafeteria New Beach Lo So Shing Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Castle Peak Beach Pui O Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan 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 St. Stephen's Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach Stanley Main Beach
Discovery Bay* Trio Beach
Golden Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Kwun Yam Beach
Grade 3 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Butterfly Beach Silverstrand Beach
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, Clear Water Bay First Beach, Kwun Yam Beach and Turtle Cove Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Big Wave Bay Beach, Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach and Silverstrand Beach have been changed from Grade 2 to Grade 3.
¡§The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches,¡šan 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, Casam Beach, Gemini Beaches, Hoi Mei Wan Beach, Lido Beach and Ting Kau 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 27, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01
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