BBC - Scotland - Education - Environmental Hazards

16 October 2014

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	Land Use Like many cities Inverness has almost doubled in size since the 1950s. The surrounding rural land has been developed to house the growing population. Inverness is surrounded by steep hills to the south east and south west and by the Beauly Firth to the north. This means that the majority of development in Inverness has been in the low lying river valley. Roll your mouse over the picture and examine what happens when rain falls on built-up areas


			In built-up areas there are many impermeable surfaces like roads, pavements, roofs, playgrounds and car parks etc. Water has no chance of draining down into the soil but instead quickly runs into the drains. During periods of intense rainfall these drains quickly reach their capacity and this leads to overflows and flooding. Small streams in towns can get blocked off fairly easily especially if locals dump hedge and grass clippings and other household rubbish. Land covered with impermeable surfaces are most likely to flood.