looking at the most recent revision - the biggest distraction for me right now is the fact that the plane 'con' trails are so skewed from the purely horizontal horizon that youve established. it makes it look like a clash of perspectives.
you seem to be struggling over making the water reflective but subdued (closer to where i think you should be going with it to properly illustrate 'water') vs this perfectly reflective/smooth surface that reads to me that its more like an ocean of methane, or some alien, toxic fluid that has no business being next to a city.
the distortion is going to get bigger to the camera as well, which i think would do well at that point to start blending out the reflective imagery and focus more on illustrating the water
the skull pollution concept is pretty interesting to look at imo. its a neat concept for sure. lookin forward to seein ya decide how you want to handle the water and nail it so you can call it finished.