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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (June 1) released the latest
grading of beaches to inform the public about the water quality
of beaches in Hong Kong.
"Among
the 37 beaches, 15 beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition
(Grade 1), 19 are 'Fair' (Grade 2) and three are 'Poor' (Grade
3)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
"Grade
1" beaches are:
| Middle
Bay (S) |
Cheung
Sha Lower |
| South
Bay (S) |
Cheung
Sha Upper (S) |
| Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
Pui
O (S)
|
| St.
Stephen's (S) |
Tong
Fuk (S) |
| Clear
Water Bay First Beach(S) |
Kwun
Yam Wan (S) |
| Hap
Mun Bay (S) |
Hung
Shing Yeh (S) |
| Kiu
Tsui (S) |
Lo
So Shing (S) |
| Trio
(S) |
|
"Grade
2" beaches are :
| Big
Wave Bay (S) |
Silvermine
Bay (S) |
| Chung
Hom Kok (S) |
Discovery
Bay* |
| Deep
Water Bay (S) |
Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S) |
| Hairpin
(S) |
Butterfly
(S) |
| Repulse
Bay (S) |
Cafeteria
New (S) |
| Shek
O (S) |
Cafeteria
Old |
|
Turtle
Cove (S)
|
Golden
Beach (S) |
| Hoi
Mei Wan |
Kadoorie
(S) |
| Tung
Wan (Ma Wan) (S) |
Clear
Water Bay Second Beach(S) |
| Silverstrand
(S) |
|
"Grade
3" beaches are :
| Casam
(S) |
Lido
(S) |
| Gemini
|
|
The beach
with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach while those with
(S) have shark prevention nets installed.
"Comparing
with the grading released last week, Clear Water Bay Second
Beach and Silverstrand have upgraded from 'Grade 4' to 'Grade
2'; and Shek O, Turtle Cove and Deep Water Bay have changed
from 'Grade 1' to 'Grade 2'.
"The changes
are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the
bacteriological water quality of these beaches, " 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 counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
"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, five gazetted beaches, namely Anglers',
Approach, Ting Kau, Castle Peak and Rocky Bay, are closed
to swimmers for the whole bathing season because of their
poor water quality or lack of beach facilities. The public
are advised not to swim at those 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
until the water quality has improved.
End/Friday,
June 1, 2001
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