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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (September 13) released the latest
grading of 37 beaches to inform the public about the water quality
of beaches in Hong Kong.
"Among the 37
beaches, 22 beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition (Grade 1),"
a spokesman for the EPD said.
"Of the other
15 beaches, nine beaches are graded 'Fair' (Grade 2), two 'Poor'
(Grade 3) and four 'Very Poor' (Grade 4).
"Grade 1" beaches
are
| Cheung
Sha Lower Beach |
Chung
Hom Kok (S)
|
| Cheung
Sha Upper Beach (S) |
Hairpin
(S) |
| Pui
O (S) |
South
Bay (S) |
| Tong
Fuk (S) |
St.
Stephen's Beach (S) |
| Hung
Shing Yeh (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Lo
So Shing (S) |
Turtle
Cove (S) |
| Shek
O (S) |
Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S) |
| Clear
Water Bay Second Beach (S) |
Kiu
Tsui (S) |
| Hap
Mun Bay (S) |
Trio
(S) |
| Middle
Bay (S) |
Kwun
Yam Wan (S) |
| Deep
Water Bay (S) |
Repulse
Bay (S) |
| |
|
"Grade 2" beaches
are
| Butterfly
(S) |
Silvermine
Bay (S) |
| Cafeteria
Old Beach |
Discovery
Bay* |
| Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S) |
| Golden
Beach (S) |
Big
Wave Bay (S) |
| Silverstrand
(S) |
|
"Grade 3" beaches
are
| Kadoorie
(S) |
Tung
Wan, Ma Wan (S) |
| |
|
"Grade 4" beach
are
| Gemini
|
Casam (S) |
| Hoi Mei
Wan |
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, Clear Water Bay Second, Deep Water
Bay and Repulse Bay have upgraded from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade 1'; Tung
Wan on Cheung Chau has changed from 'Grade 1' to 'Grade 2'; and
Lido from 'Grade 3' to 'Grade 4'," the spokesman said.
"The changes
are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of these beaches.
"The very poor
grading of some beaches in Tsuen Wan is due to the residual influence
of the heavy rain in the past few weeks which flushed pollutants
from the unsewered beach hinterland into the water.
"Beach grades
will be 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, three gazetted beaches, namely Anglers', Approach
and Ting Kau are closed to swimmers all year round because of their
poor water quality.
"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 the "Grade 4" beaches as far as
possible until the water quality there has improved.
End/Friday,
September 13, 2002
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