In the article the authors consider the problem of the impact of man-caused load on river hydraulics processes and on the properties of river sediments that determine river channels evolution and general ecological state of water bodies. The interrelation between ecological state of water bodies, the quality of water in them and the level of contamination of sediments was determined. It is established that the conditions of long-term aquatic life as a whole and of water quality in particular directly depend on the contamination level of sediments. It is shown that the rate and volume of sediments accumulation, as well as contamination level of sediment layers, vary throughout the lifecycle of water body, which allows using sediments as the main indicator of the ecological state of water body reflecting the level of technogenic impact on aquatic ecosystems.