Mar 24, 2026

EXPLANATION

Score Drivers

MISI score is 21.000 (Watch).
Lead & Copper Rule Risk adds 8 points. Lead and copper risk contributes +8 because direct lead sample exceedances were recorded: lead sample exceedances=2, copper sample exceedances=0, legacy action-level exceedances=0, open LCR violations=0.
Climate Hazard Exposure adds 6 points. Operational climate hazard exposure contributes +6: FEMA NRI composite score is 89.6000.
Compliance Escalation adds 4.000000 points. Operational compliance contributes +4: 0 violations or enforcement actions have been recorded within the last three years.
Current Drought Severity adds 3 points. Current drought severity contributes +3: USDM severity index is 0.4991 as of 2026-04-14.
Missing or unresolved factors: Infrastructure Capital Gap, Project Status Staleness.

MARKET INTERPRETATION

What the data suggests

Kill Devil Hills is a smaller community water system, serving approximately 7,200 residents. At the latest reading, Munimetric flags the system as showing early but meaningful signs of structural stress.

The score is being driven mainly by Operational Stress, with Capex Pressure adding further pressure. The pressure is distributed rather than concentrated in a single dimension.

4 active stress signals are attached to this system, including one at high severity. The breadth of active signals, even without concentrated high severity, suggests pressure across more than one dimension.

Within its peer cohort, this system ranks around the 28th percentile on measured stress, placing it below typical peer-group stress levels.

Recent score history has been relatively steady, consistent with the system's overall profile.

This summary is based on structured, source-backed public data and is intended for research and monitoring only. It is not investment advice, a credit opinion, or municipal advisory guidance.

SCORE STACK

Family Contributions

Operational Stress13.0 / 20.0

Capex Pressure8.0 / 20.0

Revenue Fragility0.0 / 20.0

Rate Constraint0.0 / 20.0

Governance Risk0.0 / 20.0

SL 2020-79

SWIA Assessment History

2024	2023	2022	2021	2019
4	3	4	2	4

ACTIVE SIGNALS

4 Signals

EmergingactiveMar 24, 2026

Compliance Escalation

Repeated or serious compliance failures often indicate rising operational and infrastructure stress.

Score impact: 4.0 · Family: Operational Stress

MaterialactiveApr 7, 2026

Climate Hazard Exposure

Elevated drought and flood exposure raises outage, source-water, and infrastructure reliability stress.

Score impact: 6.0 · Family: Operational Stress

MaterialactiveApr 7, 2026

Current Drought Severity

Active drought conditions stress source-water availability and treatment operations.

Score impact: 3.0 · Family: Operational Stress

SignificantactiveApr 7, 2026

Lead & Copper Rule Risk

Lead and copper exceedances and replacement obligations can drive near-term treatment and capital pressure.

Score impact: 8.0 · Family: Capex Pressure

HISTORY

Score Trend

Latest

21.0

Trend

+17.0

Observations

22

NC TREASURER FBA

Financial Benchmarks

Population7,852

General Fund Expenditure$21.9M

Fund Balance Available$26.3M

Fund Balance %120.3%

Cash & Investments$41.3M

Assessed Valuation$3123.0M

Tax Rate0.4

Effective Tax Rate0.2

Tax Collection %99.7%

Amount Uncollected$35K

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Kill Devil Hills