| Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department today (May 30) released the latest grading
of water quality at 33 beaches open to the public, rating 21 as
Good (Grade 1), 10 as Fair (Grade 2) and two as Poor (Grade 3).
The beach with
an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach. (S) indicates a beach that
is equipped with shark nets.
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Upper
Cheung Sha Beach (S) |
Trio
Beach (S) |
| Tong Fuk
Beach (S) |
Big Wave
Bay Beach (S) |
| Hung Shing
Yeh Beach (S) |
Deep Water
Bay Beach (S) |
| Lo So Shing
Beach (S) |
Hairpin
Beach (S) |
| Kwun Yam
Beach (S) |
Middle
Bay Beach (S) |
| Cheung
Chau Tung Wan Beach (S) |
Shek O
Beach (S) |
| Pui O Beach
(S) |
South Bay
Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay First Beach (S) |
St. Stephen's
Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay Second Beach (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Hap Mun
Bay Beach (S) |
Turtle
Cove Beach (S) |
| Kiu Tsui
Beach (S) |
|
Grade 2 beaches
are:
| Lower
Cheung Sha Beach |
Cafeteria
Old Beach |
| Kadoorie
Beach (S) |
Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
| Butterfly
Beach (S) |
Golden
Beach (S) |
| Repulse
Bay Beach (S) |
Chung Hom
Kok Beach (S) |
| Discovery
Bay* |
Silver
Mine Bay Beach (S) |
The Grade 3
beaches are:
| Ma
Wan Tung Wan Beach (S) |
Silverstrand
Beach (S). |
| |
|
A spokesman
for the department said Silverstrand Beach had been upgraded from
Grade 4 to Grade 3 while Silver Mine Bay Beach had fallen from Grade
1 to Grade 2.
"The changes
are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of the beach," the spokesman 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, 2511 6666.
Under the grading
system, beaches are classified in 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,
May 30, 2003
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