Grading of beach water quality released
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (June 25) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay, see Note 2).
Twenty-four beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 12 as Fair (Grade 2) and four as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Cafeteria Old Beach | Lo So Shing Beach |
| Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach* | Middle Bay Beach |
| Chung Hom Kok Beach | Repulse Bay Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay First Beach | Shek O Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay Second Beach* | South Bay Beach |
| Deep Water Bay Beach* | Stanley Main Beach* |
| Golden Beach* | St Stephen's Beach |
| Hap Mun Bay Beach* | Tai Po Lung Mei Beach* |
| Hung Shing Yeh Beach* | Tong Fuk Beach |
| Kadoorie Beach | Trio Beach |
| Kiu Tsui Beach | Turtle Cove Beach |
| Kwun Yam Beach | Upper Cheung Sha Beach |
Grade 2 beaches are:
| Anglers' Beach | Castle Peak Beach |
| Approach Beach | Discovery Bay |
| Big Wave Bay Beach* | Lido Beach* |
| Butterfly Beach* | Lower Cheung Sha Beach |
| Cafeteria New Beach | Pui O Beach |
| Casam Beach* | Silverstrand Beach* |
Grade 3 beaches are:
| Hoi Mei Wan Beach | Silver Mine Bay Beach* |
| Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach* | Ting Kau Beach |
Compared with the grading released last week, Big Wave Bay Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach, Pui O Beach and Silverstrand Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2; Hoi Mei Wan Beach, Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach and Ting Kau Beach from Grade 2 to Grade 3; and Silver Mine Bay Beach from Grade 1 to Grade 3.
"The deterioration of water quality in Silver Mine Bay Beach was due to the recent heavy rainfall, while the changes in other beaches are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," an EPD spokesman said.
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: Lifeguard services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 17 gazetted beaches (including the newly added Tai Po Lung Mei Beach), marked with an asterisk above, from June 23.
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.