Grading of beach water quality released
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (April 23) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay, see Note 2).
Thirty-three beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and six as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Approach Beach | Lo So Shing Beach |
| Big Wave Bay Beach* | Lower Cheung Sha Beach |
| Cafeteria New Beach | Middle Bay Beach |
| Cafeteria Old Beach | Pui O Beach |
| Casam Beach* | Repulse Bay Beach* |
| Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach* | Shek O Beach* |
| Chung Hom Kok Beach | Silver Mine Bay Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay First Beach | Silverstrand Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay Second Beach* | South Bay Beach |
| Deep Water Bay Beach* | St Stephen's Beach |
| Discovery Bay | Stanley Main Beach* |
| Golden Beach* | Ting Kau Beach |
| Hap Mun Bay Beach* | Tong Fuk Beach |
| Hung Shing Yeh Beach* | Trio Beach |
| Kadoorie Beach | Turtle Cove Beach |
| Kiu Tsui Beach | Upper Cheung Sha Beach |
| Kwun Yam Beach |
Grade 2 beaches are:
| Anglers' Beach | Hoi Mei Wan Beach |
| Butterfly Beach* | Lido Beach* |
| Castle Peak Beach | Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach* |
Compared with the grading released last week, Approach Beach and Ting Kau Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Anglers' Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 2.
Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), 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.
A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
Note 1: The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has resumed lifeguard services at 16 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk above, from April 16.
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.