Start with the score and band together
A MISI value is most useful when read with its stress band. The numeric score (0-100) indicates relative structural stress, while the band classifies where the system sits in the monitoring range from Stable through Critical.
Read the five family contributions
The composite is built from Operational Stress, Capex Pressure, Revenue Fragility, Rate Constraint, and Governance Risk. Family contribution values show which structural pressures are driving the total. In practice, two systems with similar totals can have different risk structures.
Use confidence and peer context before drawing conclusions
Confidence indicates how complete and mappable the available data is. Peer context places a system within similarly sized cohorts. A high percentile within peer cohorts may matter more than the raw score alone.
Interpretation guardrails
- MISI is a structural monitoring score, not a water quality grade.
- MISI is not a credit rating or investment signal.
- MISI should be interpreted with as-of date, signals, and trend history.
- Missing public data is left explicit and not fabricated.
Where to apply this interpretation
Use this score-reading framework while browsing the Screener, then move into individual profile pages from those listings and state pages, and taxonomy hubs.