| Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (March 14) released the latest
grading of 14 beaches.
Among them,
Deep Water Bay, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Silverstrand and Golden
Beach are open all year round while others in Southern District
have been opened to the public since March 1.
"Eleven beaches
are found to be in 'Good' condition (Grade 1) and three are 'Fair'
(Grade 2)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
'Grade 1' beaches
are:
| Deep
Water Bay |
Hairpin |
| Middle
Bay |
Shek O |
| Repulse
Bay |
Stanley
Main Beach |
| South Bay |
Turtle
Cove |
| St. Stephen's
Beach |
Big Wave
Bay |
| Clear Water
Bay Second Beach |
|
'Grade 2' beaches
are:
| Chung
Hom Kok |
Golden
Beach |
| Silverstrand |
|
All these beaches
are installed with shark prevention nets.
"Comparing with
the grading released last week, Silverstrand has changed from 'Grade
1' to 'Grade 2'.
"The change
is within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of the beach.
"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," the spokesman said.
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" will
also be given to a beach when its last E. coli reading exceeds a
threshold 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.
"Casam, Gemini,
Hoi Mei Wan and Lido will not be open to the public for the same
reason when the bathing season of other beaches in the New Territories
commences on April 1."
Other ancillary
services such as the sand areas, toilet, changing facilities and
barbecue pits of the four beaches will still be provided.
"The public
are advised not to swim at these closed beaches," he added.
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 has improved.
End/Friday,
March 14, 2003
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