January 10, 2026
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation recently awarded the Madison Community Services District $990,000 through its Doyuti T’uhkama grant program, providing essential funding to replace Madison’s aging drinking water system and improve public health for a disadvantaged rural community.
According to a Wintun Nation press release, this grant provides funding to ensure that about 750 people — approximately 450 permanent residents and 300 migrant farmworkers who live at the Madison Migrant Center during harvest season — will have access to more reliable water when the Madison CSD completes the water system upgrades. Madison CSD serves a small, rural community located between Woodland and Esparto in Yolo County.
“Clean, reliable drinking water is a basic human necessity, and no community in our region should go without it. Madison has worked for years to replace a system that fails far too often, and we are honored to help close the final funding gap so construction can begin,” stated Anthony Roberts, chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. “This investment is personal for us as well — many of our employees live and work in the Madison community, and their families deserve safe, dependable water. As Patwin people, we believe in being good neighbors and good stewards of this land, and we are proud to stand with Madison as they build a safer, healthier future.”
A Partnership Rooted in Community Well-Being
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s Doyuti T’uhkama program focuses on Native cultural resource preservation, Native sovereignty, education, health, wellness, and local infrastructure in the Patwin traditional territory. The Nation chose to support Madison because the project delivers immediate, measurable benefits to families, farmworkers, and children in a rural community with limited resources.
“This gift from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation will allow the replacement of the drinking water system that was originally installed in 1967 — a system that has failed residents for decades,” said Leo Refsland, general manager of Madison Community Service District (CSD), which maintains the system. “Their generosity allows our community to access safe, reliable drinking water.” The aging asbestos-cement pipelines break between three and 12 times per year (often in streets, private yards, and business properties), disrupt service for hours at a time, and cost the District thousands of dollars annually in emergency repairs. The leaking pipes also result in the loss of thousands of gallons of water per year.
Years of Local Determination Lead to Construction
In 2022, Madison CSD secured a $3.8 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources through the Small Community Drought Relief Program for the replacement of the drinking water system. Rising material and labor costs created a $1.45 million construction shortfall. Madison CSD contributed available reserve funds to help address the shortfall and Consero Solutions, a local social impact consulting firm led by founder Petrea Marchand, donated time to help identify additional funding and apply for grants. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s $990,000 grant fills the remaining funding gap and allows Madison CSD to proceed with construction immediately and complete the project by summer 2026.
The project includes:
- Replacement of more than 13,000 feet of deteriorating asbestos-cement pipeline
- Installation of approximately 148 new service laterals with residential water meters
- Upgrades to fire hydrants, valves, and safety infrastructure