According to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, Americans use as much as twice the amount of water they believe they do. To make matters worse, they appear to be oblivious to it.

This was revealed in a new study entitled "Perceptions of Water Use," published by the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

"In general, people tend to underestimate water [use] by a large magnitude," said Shahzeen Z. Attari, author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Public & Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.

To reach his conclusion, Attari contacted 1,020 people. "Most Americans assume that [our] water supply is both reliable and plentiful," he said. "However, with climate change, water will become more of a variable," and possibly less reliable than we are accustomed to.

Prior research has found that nearly 30 percent of the water used in the average household is the result of toilet flushing. Toilets in commercial facilities are also major water users.

Switching to low-flow toilets can help significantly in reducing water consumption, yet the study found that only 2 percent of those surveyed were aware of this.

When asked what was the single best thing Americans could do to reduce water consumption, roughly 43 percent answered, "Taking fewer and shorter showers."

"While taking shorter and fewer showers can help," said Klaus Reichardt, CEO and founder of  Waterless CO, makers of no-flush urinals, "the problem is that once again, people may not realize how long they are in the shower [or] may take longer showers than they think. Either way, this is not the most effective way to save water."

Instead, Reichardt suggested the most effective and efficient way to reduce water consumption is to eliminate the variables. "The installation of low-flow and no-flow bathroom fixtures in homes and commercial locations is a major step and a long-term step in reducing water consumption."