The information I don't see there is WHY they want to leave the locks open. There must be a reason. I get the impression that it must be a good reason, because it's not mentioned anywhere on the site you linked.

Aha, here's the explanation:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/...urt_asian_carp

So, closing the locks:
A) would block the shipping route.
B) cause flooding.
C) wouldn't work anyhow, because the locks leak and there are routes around it.
D) It's probably too late--if the current electronic barrier isn't working, this won't work either.