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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (November 23) released the
latest grading of 11 beaches on Hong Kong Island and two beaches
in the New Territories.
Since
the bathing season for the other beaches in the New Territories
ended on October 31, 2001, these beaches are closed to swimmers.
"Among
them, 11 beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition (Grade
1), and two are 'Fair' (Grade 2)," a spokesman for the EPD
said.
"Grade
1" beaches are:
Chung
Hom Kok
|
Shek
O |
| Deep
Water Bay |
South
Bay |
| Hairpin |
St.Stephen's
Beach |
| Middle
Bay |
Stanley
Main Beach |
| Repulse
Bay |
Turtle
Cove |
| Clear
Water Bay Second Beach |
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The two
"Grade 2" beaches are Golden Beach and 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 13 beaches," the spokesman said.
"Beach
grades are released every week before the weekend in order
to provide timely information for 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 all year round because of their poor water quality
or lack of beach facilities. The public are advised not to
swim at these 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 "Grade 4" beaches as
far as possible until the water quality there has improved.
End/Friday,
November 23, 2001
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