(If I've misunderstood what you're trying to get at, I apologize!)
Any object or set of objects you want to apply the ripple effect to, just throw them all in the same group. Apply the bump map to the group. Create a Clouds generator and apply it to the Bump Map filter source well and turn off the Clouds (if you're not going to be using a "water" effect). Everything will ripple as if it is in crystal clear water.
In the demo below, I duplicated the 3D "text" (unicode █ character) that has a "seascape" texture applied* and moved the duplicate into the group being distorted. In the first half, the Clouds generator I used for both the "water" effect AND the bump map is visible. In the second half, I merely turned off the visibility of the layer. (The opacity of the 3D text copy is also turned down to about 34%.)
If you need to "push" the "water" into a "tidal wave" type shape, you can add 1 Bulge filter per group. Center them at the top corners and adjust parameters to arrive at the affect to the scene you need. [If you need two Bulge filter effects applied, you need to select the parent group of your objects and type Command-Shift-G to enclose all of it in another group level. Apply the 2nd bulge filter to the top group level.]
The basic "rule" is: everything you want to ripple, put them all into a group or series of hierarchical groups and apply the filters to the top group layers. The effect is more effective if everything is consistently distorted across objects.
*I was experimenting with using blended textures inside the new 3D features available… I didn't feel that any real benefit is gained with this method. It is, however, possible to animate the textures applied in 3D text. I should have flipped it over for this demo to make it look like it's reflecting the back side... but it's pretty much the same as the front.