Abstract: Applying principles of scientific development, this study analyzes long-standing questions related to ecological operations at reservoirs. Three aspects were analyzed based on previous scholarly work:what defines an ecological operation, associated engineering practices, and practices for establishing a system. The research discovered that there are many different interpretations of what it means to be an ecologically-based operation; there are different understandings of the impact that reservoir operations have on the local ecology and environment; and there is wide diversity in how non-biological factors are considered in the ecological operation of reservoirs. Given this diversity, the study examines the concepts of environmental and ecological operations at reservoirs, reservoir ecological operation and reservoir ecological and environmental operation and their operation systems, and explicitly analyzes the scientific nature and feasibility of those ecological and environmental operation approaches. This analysis is designed to inform future operational development, provide scientific guidance related to ecological and environmental operation practices, and improve the overall operations of reservoirs in a comprehensive way.