Grading of beach water quality released

 

Press Release

Grading of beach water quality released

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (September 27) released the latest grading of water quality of 37 beaches.

Nineteen beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), eighteen were rated as Fair (Grade 2) and one was rated as Poor (Grade 3).

Grade 1 beaches are: 

Big Wave Bay Beach Chung Hom Kok Beach Clear Water Bay First Beach Clear Water Bay Second Beach Deep Water Bay Beach Discovery Bay* Hap Mun Bay Beach Hung Shing Yeh Beach Kwun Yam Beach Lo So Shing Beach

Middle Bay Beach Shek O Beach South Bay Beach St. Stephen's Beach Stanley Main Beach Tong Fuk Beach Trio Beach Turtle Cove Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach

Grade 2 beaches are: 

Anglers' Beach Approach Beach Cafeteria New Beach Cafeteria Old Beach Casam Beach Castle Peak Beach Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Golden Beach Hoi Mei Wan Beach

Kadoorie Beach Kiu Tsui Beach Lido Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach Pui O Beach Repulse Bay Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach Silverstrand Beach

Grade 3 beach is: 

Butterfly Beach

The beach with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach. All gazetted beaches are equipped with shark nets.

Following the improvement in water quality, Anglers' Beach which is a gazetted beach in Tsuen Wan was reopened for swimming last Friday (September 20).

A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. Latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's websites on Beach Water Quality (www.beachwq.gov.hk or www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.

Compared with the grading released last week, Middle Bay Beach and Trio Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to 1. Approach Beach has been upgraded from Grade 3 to 2.

"The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," an EPD spokesman said.

Under our present 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 exceeded a threshold figure, irrespective of the geometric mean. Swimmers are advised to avoid these beaches until the water quality improves.

People are advised not to swim at the closed beaches.

The EPD spokesman warned 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.

Ends/Friday, September 27, 2013

 

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