BLUEWELL − Officials working to fix a leaky lake in Bluewell had to go back to the drawing board after their work was undermined by an unlikely pest: crayfish.

Last year, a combination of the leak at Jimmy Lewis Lake at Pinnacle Rock State Park and dry conditions drained the lake.

A clay-like substance called bentonite was used for filling in the seam, but officials later realized that crayfish were digging holes in the soft substance for burrows that undermined the plug.

Park Superintendent Frank Ratcliffe says a non-shrink grout will be used this year. He says the grout will harden like cement and the crayfish shouldn’t be able to excavate it.

The lake is typically 15 acres but has shrank to 2 acres. Ratcliff says it’s only 4 feet deep at its deepest point.