Due to the inadequate conjunction between water wealth and urban development, we are constantly having to deal with tragedy, spending huge resources on ongoing repair work on constructions and on helping the flood victims. However, no country is exempt from urban floods, its consequences may be vary according to the characteristics of the cities and their relationships with their bodies of water. After reviewing disaster statistics and the basic concepts of risk, and evaluating typical engineering proposals, this paper introduces some background to the problems in Colombia, and proposes a new form of river management as a solution.