Wanted: rain and snow.

That's the buzz in American Canyon.

Unless the Sierra Nevada mountains see heavy rain and snowfall this winter, American Canyon -- along with Napa, Yountville and Calistoga -- could receive only a quarter of the water they hoped to import from the Delta next year.

The California Department of Water Resources' initial announcement on water allocations this year was the lowest since 2003.

Unlike the other cities, American Canyon relies primarily on water imported via the North Bay Aqueduct, a pipe that carries water through Jamieson Canyon. The Department of Water Resources manages the supply of the water, which originates in the Sierra and travels via a network of canals and pumps through the Delta, home to the endangered Delta smelt.

The cities could still receive more water if the state's water reservoirs fill up with rainwater and snowmelt.

"It's all up to Mother Nature," DWR spokesman Don Strickland said Monday.

If the dry weather continues, Napa County could receive a total of 5,800 acre-feet of water from the State Water Project instead of 23,200 acre-feet, according to DWR. Each city receives a proportion of that water.

Felix Riesenberg, water resources engineer for the Napa Flood and Water Conservation District, the agency that represents the cities before DWR, and Phil Brun, Napa's general manager of the city's water department, said in separate interviews that the low initial water allocation was expected.

The fear, Riesenberg said Monday, is that dry weather conditions continue.

In the meantime, water contractors throughout the state are looking for new water sources.

American Canyon, Napa, Yountville and Calistoga could buy extra water through the State Water Contractors Association, a group of 27 public agencies that includes the Napa Flood and Water Conservation District.

American Canyon, which could be forced to rely on more water from Vallejo, is also considering expanding its recycled water use and tapping other water districts in California for parts of their supplies.

Unlike Napa, American Canyon has no reservoir, though it can receive treated water from the city of Vallejo.

The county's annual water entitlements from the State Water Project change ever year.

Napa County's water entitlements were 4,400 acre-feet in 1983. By 1998, Napa County was entitled to a total of 11,710 acre-feet. By 2021, the cities of Napa, American Canyon, Calistoga and Yountville's total water entitlements could add up to 29,025 acre-feet.