Hong Kong, a seaside destination? Possibly as the government just released the list of beaches where visitors and locals can enjoy sunbathing with total safety…
HONG KONG – The Environmental Protection Department has rated water quality at 25 beaches ‘good’ and 14 ‘fair’ over the last weekend. Compared to a week earlier, Hong Kong beaches at Casam, Discovery Bay, Golden, Hoi Mei Wan and Lido were upgraded from fair to good and Castle Peak Beach rose from poor to fair, while Clear Water Bay Second Beach dropped from good to fair. The department said the changes are generally within the normal fluctuation range of the beaches’ bacteriological water quality.
All gazetted beaches opened to the public during the bathing season are regularly monitored by the EPD. Water samples are collected from each beach for analysing the bacterial level. Based on these results, beaches are classified according to a Grading System to inform the public of the recent bacteriological water quality status. Updated beach gradings are released during the bathing season through weekly press release before weekend, this website and a dedicated telephone hotline. The beach grades are also displayed at the beaches by Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Beaches are classified into four grades by calculating the geometric mean E. coli level of the 5 most recent sampling occasions and the worst grade is also given to a beach when the last E. coli reading exceeds a high figure. Hong Kong is one of the few cities in Asia with such a comprehensive monitoring system.
Photo caption: Golden Beach, Hong Kong.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
