Water is now flowing through a controlled breach on the Waywayseecappo First Nation in western Manitoba.

Provincial officials used a large excavator to cut the breach about 200 metres west of a failing embankment early Tuesday morning. The cut was made due to fears the 30-metre embankment could collapse due to the pressure of a large reservoir of water that has built up behind it.

The water is now flowing into the Birdtail Creek at a flow of 100-150 cubic feet per second, the province said in a flood bulletin. Officials are monitoring the breach and water levels, and pumping operations are also in place.

There is still a risk of the embankment failing, the province said, and if it does, a surge of water could flow into communities downstream, potentially causing flash floods.

The town of Birtle, located approximately 30 kilometres downstream from the breach, is on high alert.

"We still remain under a high risk of a breach, so we’re still in the same situation that we've been in for the last four days," Birtle's information officer Ron Bell told CTV Winnipeg.

A total of 16 homes remain under evacuation orders in Birtle. The homes have been surrounded by layers of dikes, which were put in place by many community volunteers.

One evacuee wants to know why the situation was even allowed to become so dire.

"Why did this ever happen in the first place up there at the rail bed?" Nancy Evans said.

With a report from CTV Winnipeg's Ben Miljure