The article presents the results of studies to determine the phytotoxicity of soil (bank soil) during the autumn low-water period of 2023 on the section of the small Khodtsa River flowing in the Moscow region from the source (Electrostal) to the mouth (Pavlovsky Posad). The purpose of the work was to study the information content of the contact method for determining the phytotoxicity of coastal soil using a test object of lettuce (Lactúca sativa) for the geoecological assessment of heavy metal pollution of the Khodtsa River. The dynamics of germination and subsequent growth of the lettuce test object were studied. During the studies, we used the contact method of soil plates with control of root length (on the 3rd day) and shoot height (on the 14th day). To assess the information content of the phytotoxicity method we used, in selected samples of coastal soil we simultaneously determined the content of heavy metals (iron, cadmium and lead) using atomic absorption spectrometry on a Spectrum 5-4 device in the accredited laboratory «Center for Certification and Environmental Monitoring of Agrochemical Service « Moscow». It was revealed that the bank soil from the intermediate point of the river has the greatest toxicity. The results of assessing the coastal soil for soil phytotoxicity using the lettuce test plant are consistent with the data on the content of heavy metals determined in a chemical laboratory. The results obtained on the migration of heavy metals in the «bank soil - vegetation» system can be used when monitoring the territory where the Khodtsa River flows.