A major financial rating agency on Wednesday downgraded the credit standing of the South Florida Water Management District, a move that largely stems from budget-slashing ordered last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature.

The change, issued by Fitch Ratings on more than $500 million in bonds, was relatively minor, dropping from an “AA” to “AA-.” But an accompanying report details financial conditions that could have significant implications in Florida’s long-running legal battles over cleaning up Everglades pollution.

The rating change came one day before water managers are to appear before Miami U.S. District Judge Alan Gold to detail the state’s latest plan for stemming the flow of the damaging nutrient phosphorus from farms, ranches and yards. Scott himself has touted the plan in recent months as a “affordable’’ alternative to a massive $1.5 billion expansion of the state’s network of pollution-scrubbing marshes proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and initially endorsed by Gold.

Fitch’s report largely supports what water managers told the judge last year — that an agency hit hard by declining property tax revenues doesn’t have the money for the EPA plan. The report also noted that state lawmakers played a primary role in cutting district funding and, by extension, reducing the agency’s credit rating. The Legislature, backed by Scott, ordered the state’s water districts to reduce property tax rates by 32 percent. For South Florida’s district, which covers 16 counties, the cut came on top of already plummeting property values.

Water managers downplayed the impact of the downgrade.

“This is not unexpected given current fiscal conditions,’’ said spokesman Randy Smith in a written statement. “The District has no plans to issue further debt in the foreseeable future and continues to place its credit worthiness and payment of existing debt as one of the agency’s highest priorities.”

But there is no disputing the impact of the budget cuts. The district’s budget for restoration projects has dropped from $699 million two years ago to $240 million this year.

Environmentalists said the numbers in the Fitch report underline concerns about how deep the state’s commitment to cleaning up the Glades really runs — despite recent pledges of support from Scott.

“There is no question the primary reason the state can’t finish the water quality plan is they have essentially slapped financial handcuffs on themselves,’’ said Kirk Fordham, chief executive officer of The Everglades Foundation.

Last month, Scott proposed an additional $40 million in state funding this year, more than double the previous year. But that’s down from a peak of $100 million to $200 million in annual state funding during the administration of former Gov. Jeb Bush.

The state has already poured some $1.3 billion into building about 52,000 acres of artificial marshes to reduce the flow of pollutants into the Glades but lawmakers also have repeatedly pushed back deadlines for meeting the super-clean standards required to protect the Glades’ sensitive food web.

Scott and water managers, in meetings with federal agencies and environmental groups in recent months, have acknowledged the state needs to expand its network of marshes. But the state proposal calls for significantly less than the 42,000 additional acres proposed in the EPA plan. The state has also asked for an additional six years, until 2022, to meet a cleanup deadline.

Water managers and federal officials say they are continuing to negotiate and have tweaked the plan since Scott unveiled it several months ago.

Thursday’s “status hearing’’ in Miami federal court will be the first opportunity for Gold, who oversees a lawsuit originally brought by the Miccosukee Tribe and the environmental group Friends of the Everglades, to hear details of the state’s plan. In previous rulings, he has blistered the state for “disingenuous’’ legal maneuvers and warned that financial hardships were no excuse for repeated clean-up delays.

Environmentalists said the downgrade helps make the case that lawmakers should reconsider the water district tax rollbacks or find new ways to pay for expanding Everglades cleanup.

Joe Browder, a long-time Everglades activist, said the budget cuts were weakening the state’s ability to craft a viable cleanup plan and negotiate a settlement — despite Scott’s outreach to Washington.

“No matter what he says, where are you if the check bounces?’’ Browder asked.