Wareham Police will be patrolling the waterways with jet skis this summer.

The police received two 2012 jet skis, worth $15,000 dollars each, for free through a watercraft public safety loan program offered by Kawasaki Motors Corporation, police wrote in a press release.

Police Chief Richard Stanley said in the press release that the department intends to "work cooperatively" with other departments, including the Harbormaster Department and the Wareham and Onset fire departments, to patrol and enhance safety along the 54 miles of the Wareham coastline.

"The Wareham Police Department is particularly concerned with areas of law enforcement pertaining to the operation of boats while under the influence of alcohol and minors in possession of alcohol on the waterways," according to the press release.

The town's Harbormaster Department, by definition, is charged with patrolling the coastline. It enforces laws under Mass. General Law Chapter 90B — boating regulations — which allows the department to give tickets for speeding and other safety violations, as well as arrest individuals for operating under the influence of alcohol, among other things.

The Wareham Police Department will issue citations under that same portion of Mass. General Law, police wrote in the press release.

Officers from the police's general patrol operation will man the two jet skis, said Stanley. The program will not require any additional officers.

"When we can do it, we'll do it," Stanley said.

The jet skis are part of a loaner program, and though some maintenance will be required, they will be given back to Kawasaki and exchanged for new ones in the event that they malfunction, said Stanley.

Stanley said in the press release that the new jet skis would be used by experienced police personnel with knowledge of the waterways and general water safety issues. The program will not require any additional training of officers, he said.

Harbormaster Garry Buckminster said that the two departments will meet this weekend to determine how to work collaboratively in their patrols.

"We're sitting down this weekend and coming up with a game plan with what we want to do in our operations," Buckminster said.

Buckminster said that his department currently has four boats patrolling the 54 miles of Wareham's coastline throughout the year. The department adds a fifth boat on the weekends during its busy season.

The Harbormaster Department does not currently operate jet skis, though it did for about a year in the early 2000s, Buckminster said.

"We used it for a little while, and it wasn't very good for our application," said Buckminster, adding that patrolmen were limited in their ability to board boats and carry equipment while using the jet skis.

Though former Town Administrator Mark Andrews, who resigned in April, suggested that the Harbormaster Department and Wareham EMS be placed "under the alignment of the Chief of Police and the Police Department," officials say there has been no action on that as of yet.

Stanley said that his primary concern with the new jet skis is to keep the harbors safe. He added that police in many coastal towns maintain a presence on the water.

"People shouldn't make this out to be any more than what it is," said Stanley, noting that the only other department to receive the free jet skis was the Massachusetts State Police.

Stanley stressed that he is obligated to the town's leaders, no matter the organizational makeup of the departments.

"I'm going to do what the Town Manager, through the Board of Selectmen and the people of the town, deem necessary," he noted. "I'm not out to try to do things that are out of my authority."

Town Financial Analyst Derek Sullivan said that combining departments would likely require a decision of the Selectmen, Town Meeting, or some other decision-making body.