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The Environmental Protection Department today (June 22) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Fourteen beaches were graded as Good (Grade 1), 14 were graded as Fair (Grade 2) and five were graded as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Chung Hom Kok Beach Kwun Yam Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Lo So Shing Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Discovery Bay* Tong Fuk Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Trio Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach Pui O Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Shek O Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Golden Beach Silverstrand Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Middle Bay Beach Stanley Main Beach
Grade 3 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Kadoorie Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Castle Peak 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, Cafeteria New Beach, Golden Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach have been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Repulse Bay Beach, St. Stephen's Beach and Stanley Main Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Big Wave Bay Beach, Castle Peak Beach and Ma Wan Tung Wan 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," an Environmental Protection Department 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 these 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 22, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:01
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