| Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department today (April 17) released the latest grading
of water quality at 33 beaches open to the public, rating 22 as
Good (Grade 1), 10 as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Very Poor (Grade
4).
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 |
Hap
Mun Bay Beach (S) |
| Upper Cheung
Sha Beach (S) |
Kiu Tsui
Beach (S) |
| Discovery
Bay* |
Trio Beach
(S) |
| Pui O Beach
(S) |
Big Wave
Bay Beach (S) |
| Tong Fuk
Beach (S) |
Deep Water
Bay Beach (S) |
| Hung Shing
Yeh Beach (S) |
Hairpin
Beach (S) |
| Lo So Shing
Beach (S) |
Middle
Bay Beach (S) |
| Kwun Yam
Beach (S) |
Shek O
Beach (S) |
| Cheung
Chau Tung Wan Beach (S) |
St. Stephen's
Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay First Beach (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay Second Beach (S) |
Turtle
Cove 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) |
Chung Hom
Kok Beach (S) |
| South Bay
Beach (S) |
Repulse
Bay Beach (S) |
The Grade 4
beach is Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach (S).
A spokesman
for the department said Repulse Bay Beach had changed from Grade
1 to Grade 2 last week.
"The change
is generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of the beach," he said.
"The very poor
water quality of Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach is due to heavy rain which
flushed pollutants from the unsewered beach hinterland into the
water," he added.
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/Thursday,
April 17, 2003
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