MISI Score
22.9
Watch
Project NC / Randolph County
Liberty
BOTH · Randolph CountyDistressedPWSID NC0276025
Score Confidence
0.9%
Peer Percentile
39.3th
As of
Jun 2, 2026
EXPLANATION
Score Drivers
- MISI score is 22.897 (Watch).
- Lead & Copper Rule Risk adds 5.996 points. Lead and copper risk contributes +6 because direct copper sample exceedances were recorded: lead sample exceedances=0, copper sample exceedances=2, legacy action-level exceedances=0, open LCR violations=0. variance weighting adjusted headline contribution from 6 to 5.996.
- Compliance Escalation adds 5.929 points. Operational compliance contributes +6: 10 violations or enforcement actions have been recorded within the last three years. variance weighting adjusted headline contribution from 6.000000 to 5.929.
- Climate Hazard Exposure adds 5.398 points. Operational climate hazard exposure contributes +6: FEMA NRI composite score is 80.6300. variance weighting adjusted headline contribution from 6 to 5.398.
- Current Drought Severity adds 3.957 points. Current drought severity contributes +4: USDM severity index is 0.5728 as of 2026-05-26. variance weighting adjusted headline contribution from 4 to 3.957.
- Missing or unresolved factors: Infrastructure Capital Gap, PFAS Contamination Risk, Project Status Staleness.
MARKET INTERPRETATION
What the data suggests
Liberty is a smaller community water system, serving approximately 2,655 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, which is running high in the model, with Capex Pressure contributing at a lower level. In other words, Operational Stress is doing most of the heavy lifting in the headline score.
5 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 39th 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 Stress15.3 / 20.0
Capex Pressure6.0 / 20.0
Revenue Fragility1.6 / 20.0
Rate Constraint0.0 / 20.0
Governance Risk0.0 / 20.0
SL 2020-79
SWIA Assessment History
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
ACTIVE SIGNALS
5 Signals
Compliance Escalation
Repeated or serious compliance failures often indicate rising operational and infrastructure stress.
Score impact: 5.9 · Family: Operational Stress
Days Cash on Hand
Weak unrestricted liquidity reduces the utility's ability to absorb rate, capex, or operating shocks.
Score impact: 1.6 · Family: Revenue Fragility
Climate Hazard Exposure
Elevated drought and flood exposure raises outage, source-water, and infrastructure reliability stress.
Score impact: 5.4 · Family: Operational Stress
Current Drought Severity
Active drought conditions stress source-water availability and treatment operations.
Score impact: 4.0 · Family: Operational Stress
Lead & Copper Rule Risk
Lead and copper exceedances and replacement obligations can drive near-term treatment and capital pressure.
Score impact: 6.0 · Family: Capex Pressure
HISTORY
Score Trend
Latest
22.9
Trend
+16.9
Observations
50
NC TREASURER FBA
Financial Benchmarks
Population2,677
General Fund Expenditure$5.2M
Fund Balance Available$145K
Fund Balance %2.8%
Cash & Investments$1.4M
Assessed Valuation$298.0M
Tax Rate0.6
Effective Tax Rate0.5
Tax Collection %99.3%
Amount Uncollected$11K
Days Cash on Hand
148
Days Cash As Of
Jun 30, 2024
Population Served
2,655