Water Quality Ratings Released for 40 Beaches: 24 Rated Good, 15 Fair, 1 Poor

Grading of beach water quality released

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (October 3) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1 and 2) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 3).

Twenty-four beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 15 as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade 3).

Grade 1 beaches are:

Butterfly Beach*

Lower Cheung Sha Beach

Cafeteria New Beach

Pui O Beach*

Cafeteria Old Beach

Repulse Bay Beach*

Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach*

Shek O Beach*

Chung Hom Kok Beach

South Bay Beach*

Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach [Non-gazetted beach]

St. Stephen's Beach

Golden Beach*

Stanley Main Beach*

Hap Mun Bay Beach*

Tai Po Lung Mei Beach*

Hung Shing Yeh 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:

Approach Beach*

Kadoorie Beach*

Big Wave Bay Beach*

Lido Beach*

Casam Beach*

Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach*

Castle Peak Beach

Middle Bay Beach*

Clear Water Bay First Beach*

Silver Mine Bay Beach*

Clear Water Bay Second Beach*

Silverstrand Beach*

Deep Water Bay Beach*

Ting Kau Beach*

Hoi Mei Wan Beach*

Grade 3 beach is:

Anglers' Beach*

Compared with the grading released last week, Butterfly Beach, Cafeteria Old Beach, Pui O Beach, Tai Po Lung Mei Beach and Trio Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Ting Kau 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.

While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a tropical cyclone or heavy rainfall.

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. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the EPD's dedicated webpage on the beach water quality forecast (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast).

Note 1: Lifesaving services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 27 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk (*) above, from September 1. For details, please refer to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's Special Announcement (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/index.html).

Note 2: Due to damages brought about by Super Typhoon Ragasa, some beaches are temporarily closed for clearance and urgent repair works until further notice. For details, please refer to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's Press Releases (www.lcsd.gov.hk/clpss/en/webApp/News.do).

Note 3: This refers to Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach which has no lifesaving service.

Source: AI-found images

Two men involved in unauthorised transfer of bookings of recreation and sports facilities sentenced to community service orders

Two men involved in the unauthorised transfer of bookings of recreation and sports facilities, charged with "using an identity card relating to another person" and "transferring an identity card to another person" and having pleaded guilty to the charges earlier, were sentenced to community service orders of 80 hours respectively at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (January 16). One of them was the original hirer, and his booking right for the use of recreation and sports facilities had already been suspended by theLeisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) for 360 days.

The LCSD conducted a joint operation with law enforcement agencies at the tennis courts in Victoria Park on July 13, 2024, to combat unauthorised transfer of bookings of recreation and sports facilities and other illegal activities. During the operation, one man suspected of using and possessing another person's identity card without reasonable excuse was arrested. Another man involved was subsequently charged with "transferring an identity card to another person".

The LCSD appeals to the public not to engage in any unauthorised transfer of bookings of recreation and sports facilities. Users should not pay scalpers for facility bookings, use another person's identity card, or lend their own identification documents to another person for check-in to use facilities. Users breaching the LCSD's "General Conditions of Use of Leisure and Sports Facilities" or the law will have their rights for booking recreation and sports facilities suspended for 360 days.

SmartPLAY has already incorporated conditions prohibiting the use of computer programmes or other automated tools to make bookings. Starting from January 21, 2026, if users breach the said conditions, the LCSD will immediately suspend their accounts for 360 days without giving any prior notice. The LCSD once again reminds users of the necessity of complying with the "Conditions of Use of SmartPLAY", properly managing the information of their SmartPLAY accounts, and not disclosing their user account numbers and passwords to others. Users having provided their user account numbers and passwords to a third party are advised to change their passwords as soon as possible and regularly to prevent unauthorised use of their accounts.

The LCSD will continue to combat unauthorised transfer and touting of leisure venues and enhance SmartPLAY, as well as implement further anti-touting measures as necessary.

Source: AI-found images