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Press
Releases - 2000
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (November 10) released the
latest grading of beaches in the urban district to inform
the public about the water quality of these beaches.
Since
the bathing season for the beaches in the New Territories
has ended on October 31, these beaches are closed to swimmers.
"Among
the 11 beaches in the urban district, 10 beaches are found
to be in 'Good' condition (Grade 1), and one is 'Poor' (Grade
3)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
"Grade
1" beaches are:
Chung
Hom Kok
Deep Water Bay
Hairpin
Middle Bay
Repulse Bay |
Shek O
South Bay
St. Stephen's
Stanley Main
Turtle Cove |
The "Grade
3" beach is Big Wave Bay.
All these
beaches have been installed with shark prevention nets.
"Comparing
with the grading released last week, there is no change in
the grading for all the 11 beaches in the urban district,"
the spokesman said.
"During
the bathing season, beach grades will be released every week
before the weekend in order to provide timely information
for the weekend beach-goers.
"The
latest beach grading is also available from the EPD homepage
at http://www.info.gov.hk/epd/ or the EPD's beach hotline
at 2511 6666," he added.
Under
the grading system, beaches are classified into four grades
according to the level of E. coli in the water.
The beach
grading is calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of
the E. coli count on the five most recent sampling occasions.
As introduced
from the last bathing season, "Grade 4" would also be given
to a beach when its last E. coli reading exceeds a high figure
irrespective of the geometric mean.
The spokesman
said: "At present, Rocky Bay Beach is closed to swimmers for
the whole bathing season because of lack of beach facilities.
"The
public are advised not to swim at closed beaches."
In general,
many beaches are likely to be more polluted than the beach
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.
The public
are also advised to avoid swimming at the "Grade 4" beaches
as far as possible until the water quality has improved.
End/Friday,
November 10, 2000
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