Under the conditions of industrial and transport communications development, the level of environmental pollution, primarily, of soil and plants, is increasing. Among various chemicals derived from anthropogenic sources, a special place is occupied by heavy metals (HM) possessing high toxicity. Therefore, the aim of this work was to establish regularities between the degree of anthropogenic impact and changes in the ecosystem of springs. To explore the possibility of applying vegetation growing near springs to indicate ecosystem status, samples of three plant species, which grow near springs located in the cities of Ivanovo and Kokhma and also near the village of Zhukovo (Ivanovo area, near Ivanovo): dandelion (lat. Taráxacum), sedge (lat. Cárex), tansy (lat. Tanacétum) were selected. In addition, samples of plants were taken around nearby roads located near springs. Samples were analyzed for the presence of compounds of metals (Pb2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Fetotal, Zn2+, Cd2+, Al3+, Cutotal). To determine the total (gross) contents of the metal compounds, the techniques of atomic absorption determination were used. Analysis of the samples showed that the highest content of the determined HMs was observed in plants sampled near springs in the city of Ivanovo (near the city pool) and Kokhma. Cu content dominated in all types of plants. It may be due to the fact that Cu belongs to trace elements and is part of enzymes regulating processes of photosynthesis. Therefore, plants up to a certain concentration of Cu do not include mechanisms for decreasing emission of this element. Risk parameters for human health from consumption of plant food grown near springs containing compounds of HMs were calculated. Ashby's risk tolerability criteria and ordinal scale developed by the Harvard Institute for International Development (the USA), according to which the risk is considered to be average, were used for the assessment of an individual risk. According to the Russian sanitary standards, the risk can be attributed to the maximum permissible level of acceptability. Besides, the damage (as per calculation of population risk) can be characterized as minimum and/or average, and the amount of damage caused to public health from reduction of life expectancy due to the deterioration of its quality can be characterized as minimal. Thus, the study of plants growing near natural sources of water allows assessing the quality of the ecosystem of springs.