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The Environmental Protection Department today (June 23) released the latest grading of water quality of 33 beaches.
Eleven beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 17 were rated as Fair (Grade 2), four were rated as Poor (Grade 3) and one was rated as Very Poor (Grade 4).
Grade 1 beaches are:
Chung Hom Kok Beach South Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay First Beach Stanley Main Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach Tong Fuk Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach Trio Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach
Grade 2 beaches are:
Butterfly Beach Middle Bay Beach
Cafeteria New Beach Pui O Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Repulse Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach Shek O Beach
Discovery Bay* Silver Mine Bay Beach
Golden Beach Silverstrand Beach
Kwun Yam Beach St. Stephen's Beach
Lo So Shing Beach Turtle Cove Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Grade 3 beaches are:
Cafeteria Old Beach Kadoorie Beach
Castle Peak Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
Grade 4 beach is Big Wave Bay 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, Kiu Tsui Beach and South Bay Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Butterfly Beach has been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2.
Deep Water Bay Beach, Discovery Bay, Kwun Yam Beach and Silverstrand Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
Castle Peak Beach has been changed from Grade 2 to Grade 3, and Big Wave Bay Beach has been changed from Grade 3 to Grade 4.
"The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," a spokesman said.
"The very poor water quality of Big Wave Bay Beach is due to the accumulated effect of heavy rainfall in the last few weeks, which flushed pollutants from the unsewered beach hinterland into the water,Ħħ the spokesman added.
Under the 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, June 23, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:01
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