The McIntosh Run river flows within the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. About 13 kilometers in length, the Run’s headwaters are tributaries to Long Lake. The McIntosh Run flows through the community of Spryfield and into the area sometimes called the “Backlands” (between Herring Cove and Purcells Cove roads) where it connects East Pine Island Pond, West Pine Island Pond, Long Pond, and Powers Pond along with other smaller pools and wetlands. The McIntosh Run then drains into the Atlantic Ocean through Herring Cove. Human-built diversions and pipes that connect Long Lake to Spruce Lake and other lakes in the Chain of Lakes System, have effectively increased the area of the McIntosh Run watershed from it’s natural topographic boundaries. The natural boundaries are shown in red on the attached photo).
The watershed area, about 37 square kilometers, is a mix of natural vegetation (mostly spruce-pine-fir forest, pine/crowberry granite barrens, and a mosaic of wetlands and lakes) and residential and retail development. About half of the lands are private and half are provincial Crown lands.
About 17,000 people live in the watershed. Population has grown significantly in recent decades and continues to do so, with residential developments adjoining Long Lake, abutting Spryfield, and along Herring Cove Road. This has and continues to impose threats to the ecological health of the Run, though changes in water discharge, past effluent contamination, acid-rock drainage contamination, and habitat alteration.