Plain and simply put... Filter out the chunks, boil it and drink it. Thats the best thing u can do without spending any money at a moments notice.
But if u have money, try the water filters and such, just allllllwaayyyyys boil it or use some kinda chemical. Swamp water can be/is full of nasties that will hurt ya.

PS
you can boil water in a plastic bottle also so dont be scared to use it if u have nothing else. =P it will just be very mis-shapen and wont be much good after a boil or 2. Fragile. GL

a katadyn or MSR filter is best. to be even more safe use water purification tabs before filtering.

Oh crap I drank some Okefenokee Swamp water one time I was out on a long canoe ride and we didn't carry any water and I scooped a little up in my hand to see if it looked clear and drank it.... That was about 20 years ago, I guess the gator pee killed the stuff in it... Now I carry my own

Carry your own what? Water or pee?

catalyst wrote:
Basically, when you're drinking water, you need to make sure it does not contain 2 things - bacteria and virus. For bacteria and other organisms you can either use a chemical or mechanical process. Some of these include anything from boiling, to setting the water out in the sun for the UV rays to kill anything (it works). You can also chemically treat for a virus - bleach and even boiling will work. If you merely take the water up to a boil, that should be enough to kill anything. You do not need to boil it for 10 minutes or anything.

actually there's a third contaminate...dissolved solids like chemicals and heavy metals. to get rid of these a good commercial filter is a must. the problem with JUST using a filter is they don't get all virii so a combination of a good filter AND one of the methods you mentioned is imperrative. especially with stagnant water.

as for the time to boil the water, you're right that just getting the water to a boil is enough. the reason some promote 5, 10 or even 20 minute boils is some people will remove the water from the heat at the first sign of a simmer and that is NOT hot enough to kill everything. let the water come to a good rolling boil for a minute or so to ensure it has gotten as hot as possible and it'll be fine.