The potential application of novel porous ceramic fabrication methods in regards to water purification was investigated and analyzed.  Gel casting and freeze casting fabrication procedures have proven to be cost efficient, which increases the necessity to investigate their application.  In particular, tert-butyl alcohol based gel casting produced a highly homogeneous, complex and random pore matrix structure, while TBA-based freeze casting produced unidirectional aligned gradient pore channels.  Higher sintering temperatures equated to higher porosity, smaller pore size, and greater compressive strength.  Furthermore, higher solid loadings equated to lower porosities and smaller pore sizes, with the exception of the initial solid loading of 5vol%.  This sample experienced a densification phenomenon during depolymerization.  Relationships in freeze casting also were confirmed.  Higher solid loadings resulted in stronger and smaller pores; higher sintering temperatures resulted in greater compressive strength; and a decrease in freezing temperature resulted in a decrease in pore channel size and pore channel gradient because of an increase in the solidification front.  Sintering must be above 1400^oC to produce bonds between the particles and the ceramic matrix strong enough that when the water passed through the porous media, will not wash away.  Filtration with fine carbon powder, with particle size= 7.5 ¼m, on a gel casted sample with pore size=1 ¼m, established that any particles larger than the pore size will be rejected by the porous media.  River water, which was found to have particle sizes ranging from less than 0.2 ¼m to larger than 1mm, was filtrated through a gel casted filtrate. This resulted in particles smaller than the pore size having minimal rejection at the pore front and throughout the jagged complex porous media.  Testing water filtration with freeze casting produced very similar results, but because of a smaller geodesic distance through the porous media for the water, the efficiency was much greater than that of gel casting.  Gel casting and freeze casting certainly have the potential for water purification due to high compressive strength, effectiveness in water treatment, chemical stability, and low cost.