The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (October 29) 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-six beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 13 as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Cafeteria New Beach* | Lower Cheung Sha Beach* |
| Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach* | Middle Bay Beach |
| Chung Hom Kok Beach | Pui O 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 |
| Hap Mun Bay Beach* | Stanley Main Beach* |
| Hung Shing Yeh Beach* | Tai Po Lung Mei Beach* |
| Kadoorie Beach | Tong Fuk Beach |
| Kiu Tsui Beach | Trio Beach* |
| Kwun Yam Beach | Turtle Cove Beach |
| Lo So Shing Beach | Upper Cheung Sha Beach |
Grade 2 beaches are:
| Anglers' Beach | Golden Beach* |
| Approach Beach | Hoi Mei Wan Beach |
| Big Wave Bay Beach* | Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach* |
| Butterfly Beach* | Silver Mine Bay Beach* |
| Cafeteria Old Beach | Silverstrand Beach* |
| Casam Beach* | Ting Kau Beach* |
| Castle Peak Beach* |
Grade 3 beach is:
| Lido Beach* |
Compared with the grading released last week, Kwun Yam Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Pui O Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Casam Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Cafeteria Old Beach and Golden Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
"The changes 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 24 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk above, from October 1.
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.
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