Water Safety NZ wants to hear from schools with swimming pools that are under threat of closure and lend a hand to keep some of New Zealand's most vital resources afloat.

The organisation is currently on a mission to help schools keep their swimming pools open, with at least 156 school pools closing since 2008.

Some 156 school pools have closed since 2008, and another 30 schools have contacted Water Safety NZ to voice their concerns.

Many of these have become non-operational, left empty or covered over.

And a further 30 schools – from a range of deciles – have contacted Water Safety NZ seeking help to keep their facilities open.

'We believe that school pools are a vital resource for teaching children how to swim to survive – and in the long-term, bring New Zealand's high drowning toll down,” reads a statement.

'As a nation surrounded by water, it's crucial our kids learn water safety skills and know how to swim to survive. The best place to do that is at a school pool.”

A Water Safety spokesperson says these schools have exhausted all options, including fundraising, but there are simply not enough funds to go around.

And there may be more, including in Tauranga or the Western Bay of Plenty, and the organisation wants to hear from them.

'What we are doing at the moment is working through the list of 30 but we are expecting more schools to come forward,” the statement adds.

'This is a big nationwide issue and we want to hear from schools.”

According to the Ministry of Education there are 24 state and state integrated schools in Tauranga which currently have swimming pools, although some may not be in use.

'School boards make their own decisions about closing pools, whether temporarily or permanently, and we do not always know about it,” says the ministry's head of education infrastructure service Kim Shannon.

'Where school pools are closed in relation to a school closure, these are disposed of with the school,”

The campaign follows NZ First calling for the government to reinstate funding for school pools in light of new data showing 90 people drowned across the country last year.

And one of the 156 schools to have lost its pool was Merivale Primary School, who were unable to cough up the $60,000 for repairs eight years ago.

Water Safety NZ has set up a Givealittle page aiming to raise funds, which currently sits at $614.

Do you know of a school in Tauranga or the Western Bay of Plenty struggling to keep its swimming pool open? Email: [email protected]