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The Environmental Protection Department today (August 23) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Twenty-one beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and 12 were rated as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Middle Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Shek O Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach Silverstrand Beach
Discovery Bay* South Bay Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Stanley Main 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:
Big Wave Bay Beach Golden Beach
Butterfly Beach Kadoorie Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Pui O Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First 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, Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach, Deep Water Bay Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach, Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Shek O Beach and Silverstrand Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1.
ˇ§The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches,ˇ¨ 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, 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.
Meanwhile, the department has revamped its Beach Water Quality webpage. The enhanced webpage, accessible through the departmentˇ¦s website, is more user-friendly. It offers quick and easy viewing of the latest grades of all beaches at a glance.
Ends/Saturday, August 23, 2008
Issued at HKT 10:05
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