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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (June 22) released the latest
grading of beaches to inform the public about the water quality
of beaches in Hong Kong.
"Among
the 37 beaches, 12 beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition
(Grade 1), 17 are 'Fair' (Grade 2) and eight are 'Poor' (Grade
3)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
"Grade
1" beaches are:
| South
Bay (S) |
Cheung
Sha Upper (S) |
| Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
Discovery
Bay* |
| Hap
Mun Bay (S) |
Tong
Fuk (S) |
| Kiu
Tsui (S) |
Kwun
Yam Wan (S) |
|
Trio (S)
|
Hung
Shing Yeh (S) |
| Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S) |
Lo
So Shing (S) |
"Grade
2" beaches are :
|
Chung Hom Kok (S)
|
Pui
O (S) |
|
Deep Water Bay (S)
|
Cafeteria
New (S) |
|
Hairpin (S)
|
Cafeteria
Old |
|
Middle Bay (S)
|
Golden
Beach (S) |
|
Repulse Bay (S)
|
Kadoorie
(S) |
|
Shek O (S)
|
Clear
Water Bay First Beach(S) |
|
St. Stephen's (S)
|
Clear
Water Bay Second Beach(S) |
|
Turtle Cove (S)
|
Silverstrand
(S) |
|
Tung Wan (Ma Wan) (S)
|
|
"Grade
3" beaches are :
|
Big Wave Bay (S)
|
Casam
(S) |
|
Butterfly (S)
|
Gemini
|
|
Cheung Sha Lower
|
Hoi
Mei Wan |
|
Silvermine Bay (S)
|
Lido
(S) |
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, Tung Wan on Cheung Chau
has upgraded from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade 1'; Kadoorie from 'Grade
3' to 'Grade 2' and Big Wave Bay from 'Grade 4' to 'Grade
3'.
"St.
Stephen's and Pui O have changed from 'Grade 1' to 'Grade
2'; Gemini, Cheung Sha Lower and Silvermine Bay from 'Grade
2' to 'Grade 3'.
"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 22, 2001
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