Faces of the BIA: American Waterworks

Category: Member-Features
09/29/2025

American Waterworks solves hidden home headaches

Welcome to our “Faces of the BIA” series! We are excited to introduce you to the businesses and people behind our Building Industry Association. It’s all about fostering connections, celebrating our members and helping you get to know the incredible companies that make up our BIA family!

Cracked foundations, wet basements, and sinking concrete might not be breaking news, but for homeowners, they’re serious issues that cause real stress. Enter American Waterworks, an unsung hero for families dealing with these hidden, high-stakes home issues. Since expanding into Fargo in 2020, this Minnesota-based company has been bringing peace of mind through basement waterproofing, concrete lifting, foundation repair, and more. 

Founded in 1989 out of a farmhouse in Rochester, Minnesota, American Waterworks was built on a simple but powerful mission: helping people protect their homes. 

North Dakota Branch Manager Sam Menge (pictured above) says, “With the unpredictable Midwest weather, many homes suffer from water intrusion, foundation issues, sunken concrete and more. Steve Breland, our founder, saw that need and created American Waterworks to provide trusted, warranted solutions.” 

What started as a one-man operation has since grown into a company with multiple branches serving Minnesota, North Dakota, Western Wisconsin, and Northeast Iowa. 

“Our Fargo team is expanding rapidly,” Sam says. “That growth allows us to help homeowners across all of North Dakota and even parts of Northern Minnesota.” 

American Waterworks’ services now go beyond basement waterproofing to include foundation repair, concrete lifting and leveling, radon mitigation, and crawl space encapsulation.

Sam’s diverse experiences have shaped him into the leader he is today. Before joining American Waterworks, Sam spent a decade pursuing an education rooted in ministry and service. He earned three degrees from two institutions: an associate’s degree in general biblical studies from Association Free Lutheran College, A bachelor’s in biblical and theological studies from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, and a master’s of divinity from Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary. 

His academic work led him to serve as a student mission director, where he led short-term international nonprofit projects with high school and college students. 

“I planned, recruited, fundraised, trained, built and led all of our overseas nonprofit work,” Sam says. “We did English camps, built schools and churches, and worked on homes alongside various ministry programs.” 

His work took him across the globe, including Brazil, Uganda, Ukraine, India, South Africa, and Ecuador, with additional trips to Argentina, Paraguay, and several European countries. 

These diverse experiences helped lay the foundation for his transition into the construction industry. After Sam’s time as a student mission director, he worked in all aspects of distribution sales and supply chain for primarily serving construction customers.

“I had the privilege of being a leader through all of my past experiences, which have become invaluable in my current role,” he says.

What sets American Waterworks apart is its commitment to redefining the contractor experience by providing warrantied solutions and professionally trained crews to educate and inform. With so much conflicting information online, their goal is to thoroughly explain what’s happening in their homes and how they can solve it effectively. 

Sam describes his job as “helping people and solving puzzles,” two passions that fuel his leadership style. He also understands the industry and its challenges. His advice to anyone entering the industry is to be flexible, inquisitive, and creative. 

“This work doesn’t always have a clear, step-by-step solution. You need to be an adaptable problem solver,” he says. 

American Waterworks’ presence in the Fargo-Moorhead region has also led them to connect with the Building Industry Association of the Red River Valley. After years of participating in the Red River Valley Home & Garden Show, the team officially joined the BIA-RRV last year to deepen their local roots and network with other like-minded professionals. 

Sam has dived headfirst into engagement with the BIA-RRV, joining the Herdina Construction Trades Camp Advisory Committee. This event is a two-week experience for high school students to learn about careers in the construction industry hands-on from the professionals. He volunteered for most of the camp’s first week in June, assisting students with various activities - including constructing pergolas at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds (pictured above).

Written by Maddy Stuvland, BIA-RRV Communications Intern