鈥楽eaterra鈥� evokes a fresh breeze sweeping the clean scent of the open ocean across a forested landscape. Spelled SeaTerra, it鈥檚 a luxury resort development on the northern cost of the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.
Either way, Seaterra Program doesn鈥檛 sound much like a sewage-treatment project, which is undoubtedly one of the factors behind the choice of the new name for the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program. Another factor is that it鈥檚 a lot easier to say than the original moniker attached to the project by those whose approach was more literal than literary. But even they were reluctant to use the word 鈥渟ewage.鈥�
That鈥檚 what it is, though 鈥� human waste that must be disposed of. It is smelly and a hazard to health and the environment. For most people, it鈥檚 not a pleasant topic of conversation. Changing names won鈥檛 make it smell better.
But the rebranding cost only $15,000, a reasonable price for such a move and a microscopic sum in a $783-million budget. At worse, it鈥檚 a harmless strategy; at best, a phrase that will ease communications.
The new name will have little effect on public acceptance of the project. Arguments have raged back and forth, minds have been made up, decisions have been rendered and the process is moving ahead. Whether Seaterra becomes synonymous with boondoggle or environmental success depends on the project鈥檚 effectiveness, not on a public-relations exercise.
