| Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department today (June 20) released the latest grading
of water quality at 33 beaches open to the public, rating 13 as
Good (Grade 1), 19 as Fair (Grade 2) and one 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:
| Lower
Cheung Sha Beach |
Hap
Mun Bay Beach (S) |
| Upper Cheung
Sha Beach (S) |
Kiu Tsui
Beach (S) |
| Pui O Beach
(S) |
Trio Beach
(S) |
| Tong Fuk
Beach (S) |
Deep Water
Bay Beach (S) |
| Hung Shing
Yeh Beach (S) |
Repulse
Bay Beach (S) |
| Lo So Shing
Beach (S) |
Turtle
Cove Beach (S) |
| Kwun Yam
Beach (S) |
|
Grade 2 beaches
are:
| Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S) |
Big
Wave Bay Beach (S) |
| Clear Water
Bay Second Beach (S) |
Chung Hom
Kok Beach (S) |
| Silverstrand
Beach (S) |
Hairpin
Beach (S) |
| Butterfly
Beach (S) |
Middle
Bay Beach (S) |
| Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
Shek O
Beach (S) |
| Cafeteria
Old Beach |
South Bay
Beach (S) |
| Golden
Beach (S) |
St. Stephen's
Beach (S) |
| Kadoorie
Beach (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Cheung
Chau Tung Wan Beach (S) |
Silver
Mine Bay Beach (S) |
| Discovery
Bay* |
|
The Grade 3
beach is Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach (S).
A spokesman
for the department said Lower Cheung Sha Beach had been upgraded
from Grade 2 to Grade 1 and Silverstrand Beach from Grade 3 to Grade
2; while Big Wave Bay Beach, Hairpin Beach, Shek O Beach, Stanley
Main Beach, Chung Hom Kok Beach, South Bay Beach, St. Stephen's
Beach, Clear Water Bay First Beach, Clear Water Bay Second Beach,
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach and Discovery Bay 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,
June 20 2003
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