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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (October 25) 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, 10 beaches are graded 'Fair' (Grade 2), three
'Poor' (Grade 3) and two 'Very Poor' (Grade 4).
"Grade
1" beaches are
| 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) |
Deep
Water Bay (S) |
| Chung
Hom Kok (S) |
Kiu
Tsui (S) |
| Hap
Mun Bay (S) |
Trio
(S) |
| Middle
Bay (S) |
Repulse
Bay (S) |
| Kwun
Yam Wan (S) |
Cheung
Sha Lower Beach |
| Big
Wave Bay (S) |
Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S) |
| |
|
"Grade 2" beaches
are
| Butterfly
(S) |
Silvermine
Bay (S) |
| Cafeteria
Old Beach |
Silverstrand
(S) |
| Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
Discovery
Bay* |
| Golden
Beach (S) |
Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S) |
| Kadoorie
(S) |
Clear
Water Bay Second Beach (S) |
| |
|
"Grade 3" beaches
are
| Casam
(S) |
Lido
(S) |
| Hoi
Mei Wan |
|
"Grade 4" beach
are
| Tung
Wan, Ma Wan (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, Discovery Bay has changed from
'Grade 1' to 'Grade 2' and Tung Wan on Ma Wan from 'Grade 2' to
'Grade 4'.
"The changes
are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of these beaches.
"The very
poor water quality of Tung Wan (Ma Wan) and Gemini Beaches is partly
due to the heavy rain which flushed the pollutants from the unsewered
beach hinterland into the water as well as the relatively poor marine
water quality in the background.
"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.epd.gov.hk
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,
October 25, 2002
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