Premier Greg Selinger spoke to the media at around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday for the first time since the deliberate breach at Hoop and Holler Bend.

He said things have gone as predicted and no homes have been damaged.

"The water is being released slowly," said Selinger. "It's gone about a mile southeast of us and [workers] put a cut in the road to move it away from some of the homes in the area."

Most homes in the direct line of impact from the flood waters have been protected with either sandbag dikes or aquadams. Selinger said he is impressed with the level of cooperation among homeowners, volunteers, military and provincial workers.

"Everyone has seized on how they can be helpful as possible to the people in the area to the ones who are experiencing the most stress," said Selinger.

As of early afternoon on Saturday, only fields had water on them. Provincial workers were re-directing water to prevent it from reaching homes. Selinger said roads will be cut to accommodate this. He also said the disaster financial assistance program will help to fix roads as soon as possible.

Selinger says the cut was necessary in preventing what he called a catastrophic overflow which could have caused five times the amount of damage.

However, that leaves little comfort for the people who will be affected by the breach.

Robert Stanger is among the 150 homeowners in the direct line of flood waters. He says his father built the house 50 years ago and he would like to see his sons own it one day.

"The boys are fourth generation," said Stanger. "We don't farm anymore, but this is our home."

Now, he's afraid that might not happen because of the deliberate breach.

The province said 18 homes have been evacuated and more than 200 families have voluntarily left.

Ron Owens said he plans on staying but doesn't know what is to come.

"If we get by without anybody dying, it's just a home," said Owens. "You know, what can you say. And my retirement plans, maybe I'll just have a sabbatical."

Others have gotten creative to find comfort during an event out of their control. Bob Holmes and Darren Butler are neighbours in Newton and they have made a gauge to monitor water levels on the Elm Creek.

"We have no idea what to expect," said Holmes. "We just know there's water coming and we've got to get out of the way."

The province says the Elm Creek is supposed to carry much of the flow from the breach and these neighbours want to see just how much.

"It would be nice to see how much it comes up and give us an idea of what's coming," said Butler.

Still, both men said they are packing up and will be moving out of their homes.

Provincial officials said a special compensation package will be designed for affected homeowners to be able to repair what the breach destroyed.

The premier said officials are monitoring water levels on the Assiniboine River and will determine how much water to let out into the area beyond the breach.

Flood forecasters and engineers have reduced the size of the area that will be flooded by the controlled release. Officials say the area has been reduced from 225 square kilometers to 180 square kms.

The water is expected to move three kilometers in the first 24 hours.