Families converged on Wasatch Elementary School for its annual art show Tuesday evening.

The yearly event displaying the creative and visual talents among the school’s many students was a cherished tradition in the former 75-year-old Wasatch Elementary site.

School administrators and Provo City School District officials were excited to host the art show for the first time in the new $44 million campus, which just opened back in January.

However, parents may have not been impressed with one image outside of the school in the south parking lot, where a retaining wall is falling apart.

Early last month, cracking along the asphalt of the wall due to “unexpected water” became apparent to educators and members of the community, district officials said.

As a result, the southwest corner of the stacked brick wall started to crumble.

Currently, an entire section of the retaining wall is gone — essentially leaving the south parking lot unusable.

The district said it brought the original architects and engineers who built the wall to investigate the issue and they suggested mountain runoff water may have seeped through the infrastructure and led to the damage.

Wasatch Elementary School sits beneath “Y Mountain” along Locust Lane on Provo’s upper east side.

Provo City School District acquired the property after entering into a land-swap agreement with Brigham Young University four years ago.

With mounting concerns regarding stability of infrastructure along the campus due to a wall failure less than six months after the school opened, the board of education spent the majority of its April 29 study session meeting discussing the matter to determine how best to handle repairs.

The meeting featured a presentation by lead contractor Hogan & Associates, who outlined several options for handling water on the site.

Their investigation revealed that the water was coming in at the bottom of the wall, saturating its clay layered structure.

However, the source of the water wasn’t exactly clear.

“You point out where the issue is … but where’s the water coming from?” board member Gina Hales asked during the presentation.

Chris Hogan, president of Hogan & Associates, said they have “some ideas” as to where the water may be coming from but nothing definitive.

“The contractors aren’t geotechnical engineers, civil engineers or hydrologists,” Hogan responded. “So we have our thoughts … but they’re just ideas.”

The contractors suggested a number of options to remedy the issue including a proposed installation of a back drain behind the wall to divert the water and prevent future issues.

However, the fix will be costly and the district says they are trying to figure out who may be responsible for footing the bill. And their major concern is learning the exact source of the water.

“These options came with cost estimates ranging from $600,000 to $1.3 million,” Caleb Price, director of communication for the school district, said in a statement. “Before making any final decisions, the board has requested more information.”

As of Wednesday, the district was still looking into the matter and plans to deploy a third-party company to conduct further and independent evaluation.

“This assessment will help guide the next steps, and the district will also consider their findings when determining the most effective and responsible course of action,” the statement reads.

In a letter sent to parents of students at Wasatch Elementary, the district stated its commitment to addressing the situation the right way to ensure safety on campus and maintain the integrity of the retaining wall.

“We will also continue to work with Hogan & Associates and the other subcontractors to explore solutions and clarify responsibilities. We remain hopeful that this process will continue to be collaborative and constructive,” Price said in the statement.

In the meantime, the district says it’s been assured from investigations thus far that the building overall is safe.

“But we do have some issues with water that we want to make sure that we get fixed and that we’re actually problem solving in the most effective way possible and not just going through a really quick solution, but really trying to figure out what we need to do to ensure that this problem does not reoccur,” superintendent Wendy Dau said Wednesday in a community update on the district’s website.

The next Provo City School District’s board of education study session and business meeting is scheduled for May 13. It’s unclear what discussion or action regarding the matter will occur that evening.