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Water quality at all Hong Kong's gazetted beaches achieved full compliance with the Water Quality Objective (WQO) for the second consecutive year, with the number of beaches ranked "good" increasing from 23 to 31 compared with 2010.
According to a 2011 report on beach water quality published by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (April 2), the water quality at Hong Kong's bathing beaches continued to improve over the past year.
In 2011, 31 (or 76 per cent) of the 41 gazetted beaches were ranked as "good" and the remaining 10 (or 24 per cent) as "fair", meaning that eight more beaches were given the "good" ranking compared with 2010. As in 2010, no beaches were rated as "poor" or "very poor", thus maintaining full compliance with the WQO for bathing waters.
"There has been a noticeable trend in the improvement of beach water quality in Hong Kong in recent years. The percentage of beaches complying with the WQO has increased from 63 per cent (26 out of 41 beaches) in 1997 to 100 per cent in 2010 and 2011 (all 41 beaches)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
"These improvements are the result of the enforcement of environmental laws, as well as the implementation of sewerage infrastructure projects, including the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme Stage 1, the Advance Disinfection Facilities at the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works and the extension of the sewerage network to the beach hinterland.
"Through the continuous efforts of the Government to implement pollution abatement measures over the past years, all the gazetted beaches have now achieved the required standard for bathing waters for two consecutive years (2010 and 2011).
"The EPD will maintain close monitoring of all beaches to ensure that the improvement is sustained and that beach water quality continues to meet the WQO," the spokesman said.
The 2011 beach water quality report can be found on a dedicated website at www.beachwq.gov.hk and on the EPD's website at www.epd.gov.hk.
Ends/Monday, April 2, 2012
Issued at HKT 11:01
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