A glance at the comparative pie charts associated with this section makes it clear that beach water quality made some progress over the year in specific ways. Although the overall percentage of beaches achieving ‘Good’ or ‘Fair’ rankings (making them WQO compliant) remained almost the same, there was a significant redistribution in a trend that saw more ‘Good’ beaches and fewer ‘Fair’ ones. By the same token, although the percentage of WQO non-compliant beaches remained stable, the number of beaches ranked ‘Very Poor’ fell from 6 to 2, while those ranked ‘Poor’ rose proportionately.

The latest ten-year comparison figures show a clear trend that seems to have more or less stabilized in recent years. The number of beaches that meet the WQO has stayed fairly steady at 34 or 35 since 1999 (in 2002 it dropped to 33). In the same period, the number of beaches ranked ‘Poor’ or ‘Very Poor’ has remained consistent at 6 or 7, again excepting 2002 when it swelled briefly to 8. In 2004, however, more beaches were ranked ‘Good’ than in any other year in the 10-year scale, a number translating to 61% of all beaches.

The EPD’s Beach Water Quality Monitoring Programme is first and foremost a proactive information aid to the public. By placing water quality trends and percentages in the public eye in this way, the programme enables the people of Hong Kong to take stock of the state of their beaches and be aware of the challenges and problems that face them in a densely populated urban environment like Hong Kong. The EPD’s work not only contributes to “safeguarding the health and welfare of the community” as expressed in its mission statement, but to keeping environmental groups, lawmakers, policy- and decision-makers and ordinary citizens armed with the very best information possible about the state of our beaches and the possibilities of further improvement for the future.