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The Environmental Protection Department today (June 2) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Twenty beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 12 were rated as Fair (Grade 2) and one was rated as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Chung Hom Kok Beach Middle Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Pui O Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Shek O Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach Silverstrand Beach
Discovery Bay* South Bay Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Stanley Main Beach
Kwun Yam Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Trio Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Big Wave Bay Beach Kadoorie Beach
Butterfly Beach Kiu Tsui Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Golden Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Grade 3 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, Middle Bay Beach has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Kiu Tsui Beach has changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
"The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," a 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.
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.
The spokesman also said that the EPD had just published a report on "20 Years of Beach Water Quality Monitoring in Hong Kong". It is accessible on the department's website.
"The report summarises the state of the territory's beaches in the 1980s, the 1990s and today, highlighting what has been done in the last two decades in improving beach water quality and making Hong Kong's beaches a safe and pleasant environment for everyone," the spokesman said.
"It also highlights the importance of pursuing the remaining stages of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme to improve the water quality of Tsuen Wan beaches," the spokesman said.
Ends/Friday, June 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:00
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