A drinking straw (102) that purifies water by forced movement of water through the straw. The straw is composed of: 1) a filter plug (104) made of a fibrous structure, the filter plug having sides, a first end (108), a second end (110), and a firmness sufficient to avoid collapse of the fibrous structure under a specified pressure drop; 2) a water purification material integrated in the fibrous structure; and 3) a liquid impervious wrapper (106) covering the sides of the filter plug, the wrapper defining openings at the first and second ends of the filter plug.