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Press Release

Grading of beach water quality released

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (March 21) released the latest grading of 14 beaches;.

Among them, Deep Water Bay, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Silverstrand and Golden Beach are open all year round while others in Southern District have been opened to the public since March 1.

"Twelve beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition (Grade 1) and two are 'Fair' (Grade 2)," a spokesman for the EPD said.

'Grade 1' beaches are:

Deep Water Bay Hairpin
Middle Bay Shek O
Repulse Bay Stanley Main Beach
South Bay Turtle Cove
St. Stephen's Beach Big Wave Bay
Chung Hom Kok Clear Water Bay Second Beach

'Grade 2' beaches are:

Golden Beach Silverstrand
   

All these beaches are installed with shark prevention nets.

"Comparing with the grading released last week, Chung Hom Kok has upgraded from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade 1'.

"The change is within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beach.

"Beach grades are 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.epd.gov.hk 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 threshold 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.

"Casam, Gemini, Hoi Mei Wan and Lido will not be open to the public for the same reason when the bathing season of other beaches in the New Territories commences on April 1."

Other ancillary services such as the sand areas, toilet, changing facilities and barbecue pits of the four beaches will still be provided.

"The public are advised not to swim at these closed beaches," he added.

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 "Grade 4" beaches as far as possible until the water quality has improved.

End/Friday, March 21, 2003

 

 
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