Dozens of swimming pools may be forced to close because of extra government taxes and tougher rules on water quality, the AD reports on Monday.

For example, the higher tax on mains water means swimming pools will have to pay an extra 20 cents for every cubic metre of water they use, adding €5,000 to €10,000 a year to running costs.

New rules on water quality will also require investments which many pool operators cannot afford, Dirk Bouma of the Drenthe swimming pool association Samzwem told the paper.

Since the beginning of this year, swimming pools have no longer been able to reclaim tax paid on their energy bills, which is costing most pools €10,000 to €20,000 a year.

Very few swimming pools are currently profitable, André van Kesteren from the Inge de Bruijnbad in Barendrecht told the AD.