EASTWOOD MANOR, Ill. (WLS) — Residents in one north suburban community say for years, they had no choice but to use yellow water.

But on Tuesday night, after years of complaints and our original I-Team investigation, there is finally some relief.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The ABC7 I-Team showed you the yellow water coming out of faucets, staining sinks, toilets, and even clothing in the far north suburbs back in 2024.

Now, the I-Team has learned the yellow water is finally gone. The days of yellow and rust-colored water are now over in Eastwood Manor, an unincorporated community in McHenry County.

“Like clear, very noticeable, like night and day,” said resident Stephanie Tesmer. “There is no yellow water at all anymore.”

Residents told ABC7 last year that they were paying for water that had high levels of iron.

“It stains the toilets, it stains the shower, it’ll stain clothes,” said resident Michael Clark.

The I-Team reported on the problem in May of 2024. We found Environmental Protection Agency records showing high levels of iron which are considered “unsatisfactory” by state health officials, but the Illinois Department of Health says overall, iron is not hazardous to health.

Still, one doctor told ABC7 that high levels of iron can make soap much less effective, and it leaves a residue on your skin that can be irritating.

But in recent months, Aqua Illinois has installed a new iron filtration system, and residents say things have dramatically improved.

“We started to see results sometime in May, when they switched us over to the city of McHenry water while we were waiting for the rest of the ion filtration system to be installed. But as of August 8th of this year, we were fully on our ion filtration system,” Tesmer said.

Aqua Illinois confirmed the fix on its website.

It notes they completed a $1.7 million infrastructure improvement project in Eastwood Manor. That included building renovations and, most importantly, new iron removal filters. The company says since acquiring the system in 2016, Aqua has been working to reduce the levels of iron, which Aqua says were initially 10 times worse.

“I’m relieved. I’m happy. I don’t have to think about it anymore. It’s just something that we just, turn on the faucet and we use it, and we don’t have to worry about any sort of staining, and we don’t have to worry about any sort of smell,” Tesmer said.

Residents say the problem was off-and-on for decades but had gotten worse in recent years. Now, they are happy they can cook, clean and drink water that isn’t yellow and does not disgust them.