| Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (April 4) released the latest
grading of water quality at 33 beaches open to the public, rating
25 as Good (Grade 1), seven as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade
3).
The beach with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach while those with
(S) are equipped with shark nets.
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Lower
Cheung Sha Beach |
Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S) |
| Upper Cheung
Sha Beach (S) |
Big Wave
Bay Beach (S) |
| Discovery
Bay* |
Chung Hom
Kok Beach (S) |
| Pui O Beach
(S) |
Deep Water
Bay Beach (S) |
| Tong Fuk
Beach (S) |
Hairpin
Beach (S) |
| Hung Shing
Yeh Beach (S) |
Middle
Bay Beach (S) |
| Lo So Shing
Beach (S) |
Repulse
Bay Beach (S) |
| Kwun Yam
Beach (S) |
Shek O
Beach (S) |
| Cheung
Chau Tung Wan Beach (S) |
South Bay
Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay Second Beach (S) |
St. Stephen's
Beach (S) |
| Hap Mun
Bay Beach (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Kiu Tsui
Beach (S) |
Turtle
Cove Beach (S) |
| Trio Beach
(S) |
|
Grade 2 beaches
are:
| Silver
Mine Bay Beach (S) |
Cafeteria
Old Beach |
| Silverstrand
Beach (S) |
Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
| Butterfly
Beach (S) |
Golden
Beach (S) |
| Kadoorie
Beach (S) |
|
The Grade 3
beach is Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach (S).
A spokesman for the department said Chung Hom Kok Beach had been
upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1 last week.
"The change is within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of the beach," he said.
Beach grades are published weekly before the weekend. The information
may also be obtained from the department's homepage at http://www.epd.gov.hk
or the beach hotline at 2511 6666.
Under the grading system, beaches are classified into four grades
according to the level of E. coli in the water.
Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the
E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
Grade 4 is assigned to beaches whose last E. coli reading exceeds
a threshold figure, irrespective of the geometric mean. Swimmers
are advised to avoid these beaches until the water quality improves.
Seven gazetted beaches - Anglers' Beach, Approach Beach, Ting Kau
Beach, Casam Beach, Gemini Beaches, Hoi Mei Wan Beach and Lido Beach
- are closed to swimmers year round because of poor water quality.
The public is advised not to swim at these closed beaches.
The spokesman cautioned that many beaches were likely to be more
polluted than their 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.
End/Friday,
April 4, 2003
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