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The Environmental Protection Department today (June 29) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Fifteen beaches were graded as Good (Grade 1), 15 were graded as Fair (Grade 2) and three were graded as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Chung Hom Kok Beach South Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Discovery Bay* Stanley Main Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Trio Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Middle Bay Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Kwun Yam Beach
Butterfly Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Pui O Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach Shek O Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silverstrand Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach
Grade 3 beaches are:
Golden Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan 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, Middle Bay Beach, St. Stephen's Beach and Stanley Main Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Big Wave Bay Beach, Cafeteria Old Beach and Castle Peak Beach have been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Clear Water Bay First Beach and Kwun Yam Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2, and Golden Beach has 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 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, 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 29, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:01
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