The controlled release of water from the swollen Assiniboine River is going as planned and is moving slowly through the man-made breach.
On Saturday, crews cut open a large piece of dike along Highway 331 southeast of Portage la Prairie at Hoop and Holler Bend.
Premier Greg Selinger addressed reporters Saturday afternoon near the road block leading to the breach site, and said no homes have yet been affected.
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“It’s seeping out there. You don’t see a rush or torrent of water,” Selinger said.
By mid-Saturday, only fields had water on them, with the flows expected to reach nearby Newton, Manitoba by this evening. Residents in the small town just east of the breach site appeared to be well prepared. Homes inside the town are heavily-sandbagged and only a few military vehicles remain.
A few kilometres further east in Oakville, Manitoba, residents are still hard at work shoring up their own sandbag dikes. The community hall has been turned into the base of operations for volunteers, where sign up sheets can be seen on large bulletin boards for those people willing to lend a hand.
The controlled release is being slowed by large pieces of limestone rock, which a convoy of semi trucks were hauling westbound on the Trans-Canada Highway just before the Highway 13 turnoff.
A further increase in the controlled release will be considered Sunday morning.
Provincial flood officials updated the latest conditions on Saturday.
Watch:
ChrisD.ca video (top), ChrisD.ca video/WpgCameraMan
