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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (February 22) released the
latest grading of the three beaches which open all year round.
They are
Deep Water Bay, Clear Water Bay Second Beach and Golden Beach.
Since
the bathing season for other beaches has ended, they are closed
to swimmers.
"All
the three beaches, Deep Water Bay, Clear Water Bay Second
Beach and Golden Beach are found to be in 'Good' condition
(Grade 1)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
All these
beaches are installed with shark prevention nets.
"Comparing
with the grading released last week, Golden Beach has moved
up from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade 1'.
"The
change is generally within the normal range of fluctuation
of the bacteriological water quality of the beach," 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,
February 22, 2002
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