Hong Kong beach grades: 29 rated good, 11 fair
Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department released weekly beach water quality grades on 30 October 2026. 29 beaches rated good (Grade 1) and 11 fair (Grade 2). Deep Water Bay, Golden and Middle beaches rose to Grade 1; Old Coffee Bay and青山湾 fell to Grade 2. Changes were described as normal flu
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government released its weekly beach water quality grades on Friday 30 October 2026.
Of the assessed beaches, 29 were rated as good (Grade 1) and 11 as fair (Grade 2). Compared with the grades published the previous week, Deep Water Bay Beach, Golden Beach and Middle Beach were upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, while Old Coffee Bay Beach and青山湾 Beach were downgraded from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
An EPD spokesman said: “These changes in beach water quality are generally normal natural fluctuations.”
The EPD classifies beach water quality into four grades based on the level of E. coli in the seawater: good (Grade 1), fair (Grade 2), poor (Grade 3) and very poor (Grade 4). The grade for each beach is calculated using the geometric mean of E. coli levels from the five most recent water samples.
The EPD spokesman reminded the public that while a beach grade reflects water quality under normal conditions, water quality may be temporarily affected during and after heavy rain. Swimmers should avoid swimming at beaches for three days after a storm or heavy rain.
The EPD publishes a summary of beach grades before each weekend. The public can check the latest graded data on the EPD website (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach_chi) or call the EPD beach water quality hotline at 2511 6666. Daily water quality forecasts are also available on the EPD’s dedicated beach water quality forecast webpage (www.epd.gov.hk/BWQForecast).
Note 1: The Leisure and Cultural Services Department provides lifeguard services for 29 gazetted beaches (marked with an asterisk) from 1 September. Details are available on the LCSD website (www.lcsd.gov.hk/tc/beach/index.html). Note 2: Discovery Bay’s 大白灣 Beach is a non-gazetted beach and does not have lifeguard services.