***************************************
The Environmental Protection Department today (October 3) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Twenty-six beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and seven were rated as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Middle Bay Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Pui O Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Shek O Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silver Mine Bay 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 Tong Fuk Beach
Kwun Yam Beach Trio Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach Golden Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Kadoorie Beach
Castle Peak Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach
The beach with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach. All gazetted beaches are equipped with shark nets.
A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. Latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
Compared with the grading released last week, Big Wave Bay Beach has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1.
"The change is generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beach," 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.
Ends/Friday, October 3, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01
NNNN