When Joe Hixon went to measure the sludge blanket in the final clarifier at the Hollisville (Florida) Wastewater Treatment Plant, the last thing he expected was an attack from a 12-foot-long, 800-pound alligator.
“I stuck the Sludge Judge into the water, and this ’gator came up and bit the thing off, three inches from my hand,” a traumatized Hixon told Treatment Plant Operator. “The thing had teeth the size of hatchet blades.”
Hixon threw down the mangled Sludge Judge and ran to report the incident to plant manager Dave McGill, who promptly called an alligator control officer from the Florida
