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The Environmental Protection Department today (August 8) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Eleven beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and 22 were rated as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Lo So Shing Beach
Discovery Bay* Stanley Main Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Trio Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Kwun Yam Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Butterfly Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Middle Bay Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Pui O Beach
Castle Peak Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Shek O Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silverstrand Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Golden Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Kadoorie Beach Tong Fuk 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 Second Beach and Kwun Yam Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Butterfly Beach and Castle Peak Beach have been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach has 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 EPD spokesman said.
Under 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, August 8, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01
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