Swimmers receive boost as water quality improves
SWIMMERS can frolic in the sea with a little more peace of mind following the release of new statistics on water quality at Hong Kong's beaches.
Seven popular seaside destinations now enjoy less pollution than last month with lower counts of bacteria.
Improvements have been noted at Clear Water Bay's two beaches and at Trio (Hebe Haven) in Sai Kung, where the quality is now good instead of fair; and at Silvermine Bay in Lantau, Big Wave Bay and Hairpin in Hong Kong South, and at Tung Wan in Tsuen Wan,where quality has improved from poor to fair.
The news is not all good, however.
Two beaches, Old Cafeteria and Castle Peak, are closed to swimmers because of faecal contamination. And Rocky Bay South has also closed because of poor water quality.
The figures, released by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), reveal that three beaches continue to suffer very poor quality water. They are Kadoorie in Tuen Mun and Anglers and Ting Hau, Tsuen Wan.
The EPD will release beach grades at bi-weekly intervals during the bathing season. It advises swimmers to avoid the sea near developed areas for two or three days after a storm.
A beach with very poor quality will be likely to cause illness in more than 15 people per 1,000 swimmers. Sai Kung District: Campers, good; Clear Water Bay 1st beach, good; Clear Water Bay 2nd beach, good; Hap Mun Bay, good; Kiu Tsui, good; Pak Sha Chau,good; Silverstrand, fair; Trio (Hebe Haven), good. Islands District: Cheung Sha Upper, good; Cheung Sha Lower, poor; Discovery Bay (non-gazetted), fair; Hung Shing Yeh, good; Kwun Yam Wan, good; Tong Fuk, good; Lo So Shing, good; Pui O, fair; Silvermine Bay, fair; Tung Wan, Cheung Chau, good; Tung O (non-gazetted), fair.
Hong Kong South: Big Wave Bay, fair; Chung Hom Kok, good; Deep Water Bay, fair; Hairpin, fair; Middle Bay, fair; Repulse Bay, good; Shek O, poor; South Bay, good; St Stephen's, good; Turtle Cove, fair; Stanley Main, fair; Rocky Bay, closed; To Tei Wan (non-gazetted), fair. Tuen Mun District: Old Cafeteria, closed; New Cafeteria, poor; Castle Peak, closed; Kadoorie, fairly poor; Butterfly, poor. Tsuen Wan District: Anglers, fairly poor; Approach, poor; Casam, poor; Gemini, poor; Hoi Mei Wan, poor; Lido, poor; Ting Kau, fairly poor; Tung Wan, Ma Wan, fair.
