SOUTHBURY - There's a new patrol boat on the waters of Lake Zoar that's cleaner, more environmentally friendly and likely cheaper for surrounding towns.

The Lake Zoar Authority - which manages the lake for the towns of Southbury, Oxford, Newtown and Monroe - bought a new patrol boat last month to help monitor traffic on the 11-mile-long man-made lake off the Housatonic River.

The 21-foot Pro-Line fishing boat cost about $32,000 and has been outfit with emergency lights, police radios and "LZA Marine Patrol" lettering. It's been out on patrol about a dozen times.

"It's nice. The police really like it and it's very comfortable riding," said Bill Soracin of Newtown, chairman of the Lake Zoar Authority, a commission funded by the four towns. "It's state of the art really and it's long overdue."

The new boat replaced a 20-year-old vessel that was a bit of a gas guzzler, costing the Authority up to $100 a day. The old engine was noisy and required both oil and gas daily, making it more of a pollutant for Lake Zoar's waters, said Treasurer Paul Gallichotte of Southbury.

Gallichotte said commissioners of the Lake Zoar Authority, which does everything from maintain the lake patrol to monitor water quality, decided last year that with gas prices as they are, one of the patrol boats had to be replaced.

The new boat has a four-stroke engine like those used in most cars and pickups. The four piston strokes are intake, compression, combustion and exhaust.

That means it's smooth and quiet, cleaner-burning and more environmentally friendly than the old two-stroke engine.

Two-stroke engines are commonly used in applications such as lawnmowers, outboard boat motors and dirt bikes. Their two strokes are compression and combustion.

"It's friendly to the lake and the environment," said Dominick Goncalves, of Beacon Point Marine in Shelton, who sold the boat.

Letter and electronics were done by Fair Auto Emergency Vehicle Equipment of Bridgeport, Conn. and protective canvasses will be created by Fairfield Auto Upholstery in Fairfield.

The new gas tank has to be filled about every 10 days, as opposed to daily - but hasn't been filled enough to tell how much money it's saving.

"It gets way more gas mileage than the other one did," Gallichotte said. "Hopefully in the long run it will be a money saving for us."

The Authority also has a 10-year-old boat that Gallichotte says may have to be replaced with a few years. Its dirty cabin and peeling seat-covers sit in striking contrast to the bright new vessel.

The two boats go out on weekends, with a Lake Zoar Authority officer and a police officer from one of the surrounding towns - checking boats and jet skis for licenses and registration stickers and making sure everyone is abiding by speed limits and playing safe.

The boats are also used for rescue missions, if necessary - since the lake is not very accessible by roads.

Lake Zoar is one of the most heavily used boat and jet ski venues in western Connecticut because it has a state-owned ramp that is easily accessible from Interstate 84.

"When they see that boat and they see that light bar, they abide by all the rules," Soracin said.