I recall tasting some water that had iodine added to "purify" the water. It was back when I was a kid in scouts. Tasted pretty bad, but if you have to drink you could choke it down.

Here in the area of Socal where we live, my concern is what happens when the BIG earthquake takes out the water mains? We do have water stored and could get by for quite some time, but if the water does not flow after about 6 or 8 weeks....

The river that is not too far from us is pretty dirty when it is not dry. I am sure it has its share of giardia as well as fecal contamination from animals and the homeless. My plan is get that water, and run through some filters to eliminate the big stuff. Step two is to boil it (yes, I have fuel for quite a long time) and then after it cools, pour it, aerate it and then add some of the stored chlorine bleach. I haven't the inclination to do the math to know how much water two gallons of chlorine bleach will purify but it is a lot!

Where does this plan break down?