River swimming in Netherlands: 2025 water quality
Netherlands reported 78 river bathing waters for the 2025 season. 69.2% were classified Excellent — 1.7 points below the 70.9% for all 757 bathing waters in the country — and 4 were Poor. 36 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 8 countries with at least 30 river bathing waters, Netherlands ranks 3 by Excellent share.
river bathing waters
Excellent in 2025
Poor in 2025
Season status: Today (6 November 2026) is outside the official bathing season (1 May – 30 September). Official monitoring is tied to the season (a first sample may be taken shortly before it opens), so there are no current official water-quality results now. The next season starts on 1 May 2027.
Find the nearest Excellent river to you →
Map of river bathing waters
How river bathing waters in Netherlands rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 75 | 54 | 72% | 4 |
| 2024 | 74 | 61 | 82.4% | 2 |
| 2023 | 72 | 60 | 83.3% | 2 |
| 2022 | 70 | 59 | 84.3% | 2 |
| 2021 | 69 | 56 | 81.2% | 0 |
| 2020 | 70 | 59 | 84.3% | 1 |
| 2019 | 68 | 57 | 83.8% | 0 |
| 2018 | 67 | 60 | 89.6% | 0 |
| 2017 | 65 | 58 | 89.2% | 0 |
| 2016 | 65 | 55 | 84.6% | 1 |
| 2015 | 64 | 50 | 78.1% | 1 |
Most consistent Excellent rivers
36 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025.
- AAKVLAAI, BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- BEMMELSE WAARD 11 seasons
- BERNISSE ABBENBROEK OOSTZIJDE 11 seasons
- CAMPING DE SCHANS 11 seasons
- DAGSTRAND AREA X 11 seasons
- DAGSTRAND DE GROTE HEGGE 11 seasons
- DE BISONBAAI 11 seasons
- DE GOUDEN HAM CAMPING HET GROENE EILAND 11 seasons
- DE GOUDEN HAM DE MAASLANDEN 11 seasons
- DE GOUDEN HAM HANZELAND 11 seasons
- DE HOGE WAARD, CAMPING BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- DE ZANDMEREN NOORD 11 seasons
- DE ZANDMEREN WEST 11 seasons
- DILKENSPLAS 11 seasons
- GAT VAN DE KERKSLOOT, BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- GRAVENBOL 11 seasons
- HEESWIJKSE KAMPEN 11 seasons
- HEMELRIJKSE WAARD, DAGSTRAND 11 seasons
- HET GROENE EILAND STRAND MAASBOULEVARD 11 seasons
- HITSERTSEKADE ZUID-BEIJERLAND 11 seasons
- KRAAIJENBERGSE PLAS 2 11 seasons
- KRAAIJENBERGSE PLAS 3 11 seasons
- LAMMETJESWIEL 11 seasons
- LITHSE HAM, DAGSTRAND 11 seasons
- LITHSE HAM, GEMEENTESTRAND 11 seasons
- MIDDELWAARD 11 seasons
- NOORDERGAT VAN DE PLOMP, BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- PLAS WRC EIJSDEN (HOGE WEERD) MAASTRICHT 11 seasons
- RECREATIEGEBIED MOOKERPLAS 11 seasons
- RECREATIEPARK DE SCHERPENHOF 11 seasons
- RECREATIESTRAND COMFORTPARC WESSEM 11 seasons
- RECREATIESTRAND VAKANTIEPARK LEUKERMEER 11 seasons
- RIETPLAAT, BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- SPUI GOUDSWAARD 11 seasons
- STRAND EILAND VAN MAURIK 11 seasons
- ZWANENBAD 11 seasons
- HONSWIJKERPLAS 10 seasons
- VAKANTIEPARK EILAND VAN MAURIK 9 seasons
- ZWEMPLAS MAASPARCJE-VELMANS-V.ASS-HERMANS 8 seasons
- SPIEGELWAAL 7 seasons
- DE MOSTERDPOT 6 seasons
- KRAAIJENBERGSE PLAS BEERS 6 seasons
- KRAAIJENBERGSE PLAS OP DEN DRUL 6 seasons
- TER SPEGELT STERRENSTRAND 6 seasons
- RECREATIESTRAND RESORT MARINA OOLDERHUUSKE 5 seasons
- RHEDERLAAG GIESE KOP 4 seasons
- RECREATIETERREIN HELLEGATSPLEIN 3 seasons
- STAD AAN 'T HARINGVLIET 3 seasons
- STRANDJE ANDEL 3 seasons
- TULL EN 'T WAAL WEST 3 seasons
- HARINGVLIETBRUG OOST 2 seasons
- STRANDJE RIJSWIJK 2 seasons
- STRANDJE WIJKSE BOL 2 seasons
- BADSTRAND VEEN 1 season
Rivers rated Poor in 2025
- DE RIETSCHOOF Poor in 4 of 11 classified seasons
- OUDE TOL Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
- REITDIEP, GARNWERD Poor in 4 of 11 classified seasons
- RHEDERLAAG BAHRSCHE STRAND Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (2)
- BADSTRAND VEEN Good → Excellent
- HARINGVLIETBRUG WEST Sufficient → Good
Declined (12)
- DE KIS ZUID, PLAS EILAND Excellent → Sufficient
- RHEDERLAAG BAHRSCHE STRAND Good → Poor
- STRANDBAD WELL Excellent → Sufficient
- CAMPING IJSSELSTRAND Good → Sufficient
- DE NESWAARDEN Excellent → Good
- EUROPARCS MARINA STRANDBAD Good → Sufficient
- HETERSCHE WAARDEN Excellent → Good
- MIDDELHARNIS BADSTRAND Excellent → Good
River bathing waters by province
| Province | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gelderland | 27 | 59.3% | 2 |
| North Brabant | 18 | 100% | 0 |
| Limburg | 14 | 64.3% | 0 |
| South Holland | 12 | 58.3% | 1 |
| Utrecht | 5 | 80% | 0 |
Provinces with at least three river bathing waters; counts include only this water type.
Near which major cities?
Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:
- Amsterdam 9 river bathing waters within 60 km
Rivers compared across Europe
| # | Country | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 37 | 73% | 0 |
| 2 | Czechia | 91 | 72.5% | 0 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 78 | 69.2% | 4 |
| 4 | Portugal | 118 | 43.2% | 8 |
| 5 | France | 444 | 41% | 62 |
| 6 | Poland | 100 | 40% | 10 |
| 7 | Spain | 164 | 35.4% | 28 |
| 8 | Hungary | 45 | 33.3% | 1 |
Countries with at least 30 river bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.
Quick answers
- How many river bathing waters in Netherlands are rated Excellent?
- 54 of 78 (69.2%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
- Which rivers in Netherlands have the best long-term record?
- 36 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example AAKVLAAI, BADSTRAND, BEMMELSE WAARD, BERNISSE ABBENBROEK OOSTZIJDE. See the full list.
- Can I check current conditions?
- The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on Zwemwater.nl. Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.
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