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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (August 2) released the latest
grading of 37 beaches to inform the public about the water quality
of beaches in Hong Kong.
"Among the
37 beaches, 23 beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition (Grade
1)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
The water quality
of nine beaches are in 'Fair' condition (Grade 2), four are 'Poor'
(Grade 3) and one is 'Very Poor' (Grade 4)."
"Grade 1" beaches
are
| Cheung
Sha Lower Beach |
Hairpin
(S) |
| Cheung
Sha Upper Beach (S) |
Middle
Bay (S) |
| Pui
O (S) |
Repulse
Bay (S) |
| Tong
Fuk (S) |
Shek
O (S) |
| Hung
Shing Yeh (S) |
South
Bay (S) |
| Lo
So Shing (S) |
St.
Stephen's Beach (S) |
| Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S) |
Stanley
Main Beach (S) |
| Clear
Water Bay Second Beach (S) |
Big
Wave Bay (S) |
| Hap
Mun Bay (S) |
Chung
Hom Kok (S) |
| Kiu
Tsui (S) |
Turtle
Cove (S) |
| Trio
(S) |
Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S) |
| Kwun
Yam Wan (S) |
|
"Grade 2" beaches
are
| Deep
Water Bay (S) |
Cafeteria
New Beach (S) |
| Golden
Beach (S) |
Cafeteria
Old |
| Beach
Butterfly (S) |
Tung
Wan, Ma Wan (S) |
| Kadoorie
(S) |
Silverstrand
(S) |
| Discovery
Bay* |
|
"Grade 3" beaches
are
| Silvermine Bay (S) |
Casam (S) |
| Hoi Mei Wan |
Lido (S) |
The "Grade
4" beach is Gemini.
The beach with
an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach while those with (S) have shark
prevention nets installed.
"Comparing
with the grading released last week, Shek O has upgraded from 'Grade
2' to 'Grade 1'; Deep Water Bay and Discovery Bay have changed from
'Grade 1' to 'Grade 2', Silvermine Bay from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade
3' and Gemini from 'Grade 3' to 'Grade 4'," the spokesman said.
"The changes
are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological
water quality of these beaches.
"The very poor
water quality of Gemini is due to heavy rain which flushed pollutants
from the unsewered beach hinterland into the water.
"Beach grades
will be released every week before the weekend in order to provide
timely information for weekend beach-goers.
"The latest
beach grading is also available from the EPD homepage at http://www.info.gov.hk/epd/
or the EPD's beach hotline at 2511 6666," the spokesman said.
Under the grading
system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the
level of E. coli in the water.
The beach grading
is calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli
counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
"Grade 4" would
also be given to a beach when its last E. coli reading exceeds a
high figure irrespective of the geometric mean.
The spokesman
said: "At present, three gazetted beaches, namely Anglers', Approach
and Ting Kau are closed to swimmers all year round because of their
poor water quality.
"The public
are advised not to swim at these closed beaches."
In general,
many beaches are likely to be more polluted than the beach 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 public
are also advised to avoid swimming at the "Grade 4" beaches as far
as possible until the water quality there has improved.
End/Friday,
August 2, 2002
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