Regarding the drought.......
You perhaps overlooked Abrams Law.
“Within the limits of workability,the 28 day compressive strength of Portland cement concrete is inversely proportional to the water cement ratio”
That is, for a given Portland cement mix design, the less water, drier, the greater the compressive strength. The ramifications of the law are that if there is too much water or too little Portland cement for given mix design the compressive strength will be reduced.
On most structures of this importance, various batches would be sampled and tested for compressive strength.
Yes, less water stronger bond. But cure rate does the opposite.
One has to do with mixing before placed.
The other has to do with cure rate after poured.
They are not contradictory.