Drip pans are handy, I put my water heater up on cement blocks to assist in rust prevention from below as the Concrete pad sometimes “sweats” due to the high water level in the ground here.
Also I use a solar assisted model with an 80 gal tank. The more water that is heated by solar during the day the less electricity is used during the evening. I highly recommend solar assist for the Hot water heater no matter what your climate is.
I’ve heard in the past about just weird stuff happening when electrical items were placed on concrete.
Who knows. Might be something to it.