A method for determining the total alkalinity (TA) in a recirculating water system without adversely impacting the pH of the water includes the steps of selecting a pH threshold (ThpH), measuring the flow rate of the moving body of water (fS), controllably adding a known amount of acid to the recirculating water system at an acid flow rate (fA), repetitively measuring the pH of the recirculating water system downstream from the addition of the acid, and computing the total alkalinity of the recirculating water system when the pH measurement falls below the pH threshold.