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The Environmental Protection Department today (April 27) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Twenty-three beaches were graded as Good (Grade 1), nine were graded as Fair (Grade 2), and one was graded as Very Poor (Grade 4).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Middle Bay Beach
Chung Hom Kok Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Silverstrand Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach South Bay Beach
Discovery Bay* St. Stephen's Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Trio Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Kwun Yam Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Lo So Shing Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach Kadoorie Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Pui O Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Shek O Beach
Castle Peak Beach Stanley Main Beach
Golden Beach
Grade 4 beach is Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach.
The beach with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach. All gazetted beaches are equipped with shark nets.
Beach grades are published weekly before the weekend. The information may also be obtained from the department's website at www.epd.gov.hk or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
Compared with the grading released last week, Shek O Beach and Stanley Main Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2, and Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach has been changed from Grade 2 to Grade 4.
"The very poor water quality of Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach is due to the heavy rainfall in the last few days, which flushed pollutants from the beach hinterland and caused a sudden deterioration of water quality," a spokesman said.
"The other changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," the spokesman added.
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.
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.
People are advised not to swim at the closed beaches.
The 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, April 27, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:01
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