Sadly, even after that water is found, only some of it's clean and safe enough to drink
Elenita does not like the way her fathers' boss treats him
A. he gazed at the bright blue sky and the trees filled with lush green foliage. How could anyone spend time looking at a screen when he could look at this?
This is a good observation. The General reveals to Rainsford that Rainsford himself will be the hunted in page 11-15 of the story. So, your observation is correct. There is a delay in introducing the main conflict. The main reason for this is to keep Rainsford in suspense and study his reaction.