Grading of beach water quality released
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (September 17) 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-seven beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and 13 as Fair (Grade 2).
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Anglers' Beach | Kwun Yam Beach |
| Cafeteria New Beach* | Lo So Shing Beach |
| Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach* | Lower Cheung Sha Beach* |
| Chung Hom Kok Beach | Middle Bay Beach |
| Clear Water Bay First Beach | Repulse Bay Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay Second Beach* | Shek O Beach* |
| Deep Water Bay Beach* | South Bay Beach* |
| Discovery Bay | St Stephen's Beach |
| Golden Beach* | Tai Po Lung Mei Beach* |
| Hap Mun Bay Beach* | Tong Fuk Beach |
| Hoi Mei Wan Beach | Trio Beach* |
| Hung Shing Yeh Beach* | Turtle Cove Beach |
| Kadoorie Beach | Upper Cheung Sha Beach |
| Kiu Tsui Beach |
Grade 2 beaches are:
| Approach Beach | Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach* |
| Big Wave Bay Beach* | Pui O Beach* |
| Butterfly Beach* | Silver Mine Bay Beach* |
| Cafeteria Old Beach | Silverstrand Beach* |
| Casam Beach* | Stanley Main Beach* |
| Castle Peak Beach | Ting Kau Beach* |
| Lido Beach* | |
Compared with the grading released last week, Anglers' Beach, Deep Water Bay Beach, Hoi Mei Wan Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Middle Bay Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Silver Mine Bay 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: Lifeguard services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 23 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk above, from September 10.
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.