The Cass River, and Vassar's flood history

The Cass River winds across Tuscola County and runs right through Caro and Vassar before heading downstream toward Saginaw Bay. It’s a nice river — good for fishing and paddling — but it floods. Vassar, in particular, sits low along the Cass and has a long history of flooding; in the area’s worst flood, decades back, the river rose more than ten feet above flood stage and put much of downtown Vassar and dozens of homes under water.

If you’re buying near the Cass, in Vassar or anywhere along the river, check whether the property sits in the mapped 100-year floodplain before you commit. Being in the floodplain usually means buying flood insurance on top of a regular policy, which adds to the monthly cost, and it can affect what you’re allowed to build. The county and FEMA both publish flood maps you can look up by address.